Steph P's Ramblings: Cooking Light... Beef & Broccoli

So I've moved on to a phase of my life where I'm trying to eat healthier. I'm having a good time learning to cook new recipes and taking some old ones and making them healthy.

One of my favorite meals is Chinese food. Tonight I made a healthy version of Beef & Broccoli. I want to blog it because I enjoy that.

The Cast of Characters: 1 cup of quinoa, 2 1/2 cups of beef broth (divided), 2T dry Sherry (divided), 2 T lower sodium soy sauce, 1t sugar, 1 lb boneless sirloin steak, cut diagonally across grain into thin slices, 1 T Cornstarch (not pictured), 1 T Hoisin sauce, 1t Sriracha, 2 T canola oil (I used peanut oil because that's what I had on hand -- not pictured), 1 T ground fresh ginger (in a jar), 2 t minced garlic, 4 cups broccoli florets, 1/4 cup water, 1/3 cup sliced green onions.

1. Toast the quinoa a bit. Put the quinoa in a dry pan and put it on medium heat. They will start to sound like popcorn. I read that toasting it makes it cook faster and gives it a deeper flavor. I don't know if that is true, but it DID cook faster than last time I cooked it. Of course that could be because I followed the directions correctly this time. If you've never used quinoa, it's really hearty and good. A really healthy substitute for rice because it's a grain that acts as a complete protein. It's better for you than rice -- even brown rice.

Add two cups of beef broth. (for quinoa it's two cups of liquid for one cup of quinoa). Stir it and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover it, and let it simmer for 15 minutes.

Stir it occasionally.

Next, Mix 1T sherry, 1T LITE Soy sauce, and 1t of sugar in a bowl.

Toss the steak in.

Stir it to coat and set aside.

In another bowl: Stir together 1T sherry, 1T LITE Soy Sauce, 1/5 cup lower sodium beef broth, 1T cornstarch, 1T Hoisin Sauce, and 1t Sriracha (If you've never used Sriracha -- it's HOT. This amt gives enough flavor, but if you want spice add a bit more).

Heat 1 T oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef mixture and saute 3 minutes or until browned. Remove from pan. (This picture didn't turn out well -- it's a challenge to take pictures with my left hand through steam)

Don't forget to stir the quinoa every now and then.

Add 1 T Peanut oil to the pan you've cooked the steak in and add the 1 T ground ginger and 2 T minced garlic. Cook for 30 seconds stirring constantly.