Crockpot Oriental Beef & Broccoli

Since we moved to Arizona, I've kept my eye out for slow cooker recipes to reduce the amount of heat coming from my kitchen. I scored this one out of the Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes. I'm always a sucker for Chinese recipes, and this dish did not disappoint. It was really easy and we enjoyed it very much. I couldn't find a "beef gravy" mix at the store, so I used a brown gravy mix packet and it worked fine. The meat turned out tender the flavors were really good. If you wanted, you could throw in a little bit of crushed red pepper flakes if you want a slight "kick" to the dish.

Oriental Beef & Broccoli

6 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 medium onions, cut into wedges (I used about 2 Tbl dehydrated onion flakes)
1-1/2 lbs beef round steak, bias-sliced into 1/2 inch strips
1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger (I used about 1 tsp ground ginger powder)
2 cloves garlic, minced (I used my garlic press)
1/2 c. water
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1, 3/4 oz. envelope of beef gravy mix
4 cups broccoli florets
3 cups hot cooked rice

1. In a 3-1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker, place carrots, onions, beef strips, ginger and garlic. Stir together water, soy sauce, and beef gravy mix. Pour over meat and vegetables in cooker.

2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.

3. If using low-heat setting, turn to high-heat setting. Stir in broccoli florets. Cover and cook 15 minutes more oruntil broccoli is crisp-tender. Serve over hot rice.