(Ground) Beef with Broccoli

There's a right way to make beef with broccoli, and this isn't it. The real dish uses finely cut flank steak and fresh broccoli, stir-fried in a delightful, tangy sauce.

Here's the thing, though: my kids won't eat that, the ingredients are too expensive, and it's a lot of work. While my version of the dish isn't terribly authentic, I can make the entire thing in 20 minutes, it uses cheap ground beef and frozen broccoli, and my kids will stuff themselves. So guess which one we make?

First things first: make rice. Simple White Rice Recipe. While that's cooking, do this:

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs ground beef.
• 6-8 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 packs broccoli

• 1/4 C brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 t crushed red-pepper flakes
• 1 T ground ginger
• 2 T corn starch
• 1/2 C reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1 T rice vinegar
• 1 T sesame oil

Instructions

1. In a large pan, brown and drain ground beef. When beef is mostly brown, add garlic.
2. In a microwave, cook broccoli to "mostly done." This will depend on your broccoli and your microwave. We use the stuff from Sam's Club and cook it about 9 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, crushed red pepper, ground ginger, and corn starch. Mix until combined, then add soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Mix again.
4. Add broccoli to beef and stir to combine. Add sauce, stir, and cook until it comes to a simmer.

Serve over rice!