The last few days have been hot and hectic! This weather is crazy, here in Eugene, Oregon. This Oregon native does not fair well! It just means that I have to pace myself and realize that my giant to do list may not get finished.

Sometimes, one of the first things to go is cooking. When baseball, work, volunteering, and life gets crazy, I give myself a break and let the grocery store deli cook for my family. The kids are happy and I get to rest.

After a couple days of what I call “picky meals” (meaning that I pick a few random ingredients from the fridge and have more of an appetizer type of meal: pickles, kalamata olives, cheese, ham, etc), I wanted a real dinner.

I really love beef and broccoli. I miss going out to have Chinese food. So, I decided to create an easy, yummy tasting version of my own.

Here’s the recipe:

1 pound top sirloin steak, cut into thin strips. Get about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil really hot in a large skillet. Add meat. Let seer. Add 1 whole onion, sliced into thin strips. Take the florets off of the broccoli stalks (about 1 1/2 pounds). Add to skillet. Peel the stalks and cut into thin strips. Add to skillet. Feel free to add sliced water chestnuts or bamboo shoots. Add 4 cloves minced garlic, 2 teaspoons black pepper and 3 tablespoons liquid amino acids. Allow to cook about five minutes. Add 1 or 2 15 ounce cans of beef broth (if you add more broth, season accordingly). Make a corn starch slurry to thicken. Serve it with rice or noodles.