Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs beef chuck (roast or chuck steak), sliced into thin 1 1/2-inch long strips
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced into 2 portions
• 1 cup low-sodium beef broth or beef consommé*
• 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1/3 cup slightly packed dark-brown sugar
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 3 cups broccoli florets, diced into bite size pieces (from about 12 oz broccoli crowns)
• Sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)

Directions

• Add beef and onion portions to a slow cooker. In a mixing bowl whisk together beef broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar and garlic. Season mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Pour mixture over beef and onions in slow cooker. Cover with lid and cook on low heat 2 1/2 – 3 1/2 hours, until meat has cooked through.
• Ladle out 1/4 cup of the broth from slow cooker and pour into a bowl. Add cornstarch and whisk until smooth then return broth mixture to slow cooker and gently stir. Add in broccoli pieces (if you want vibrantly green broccoli you can steam it instead then add it at the end) and cover slow cooker with lid, then increase to high heat and cook 20 minutes longer, or until broccoli is tender and sauce has thickened slightly. Remove onion pieces. Serve warm over white or brown rice sprinkled with optional sesame seeds.
• *I used low-sodium broth (as well as the low-sodium soy sauce) so I have better control over the amount of salt that goes in. You can use regular beef broth, you just might not need to add salt, and same if using the consommé.