It's been 3 weeks since my last post but I'm still alive, I swear!
A few weeks ago I started consulting for a small tech firm and my days have been filled with programming learning modules. I'm also still managing the gym and last I checked, I have two kids running around this place somewhere.
I kid. I kid.
I'm busy but I'm finding the details of calculating specific nutritional information for my ideas more than my lack of time holding me back from posting more. My shift from low-cal, point-based recipes to just simple, healthy, home cooking has given me a little food blogging-identity crisis. You can easily see my progression over the past 9 years here on the blog. It's been a gradient of lite-by-any-means-possible to more whole, less-processed foods.
My ideas will always be "weight watchers friendly" or "lite" or whatever category is vogue these days but I needed to remind myself of my mission: to share my adventures in healthier eating.
What I like about food blogging is the sharing. I want to hopefully inspire you. I hope to still continue do that without the pressure I was putting on myself to make recipes a certain way or be exact with specific nutrients.
With that said, I present my latest family-enjoyed dinner, Slow Cooker Ginger Beef. And when I say family-enjoyed I mean BOTH KIDS ACTUALLY ATE IT WITHOUT COMPLAINING!
Yup, that's the boys eating dinner and the Little Bean actually has a smile on his face!
The inspiration for this came after I posted on my weight-loss blog about my new job and Sabz left a comment about letting the slow cooker be my go-to again.
I was like... doh! Why didn't I think of that?
The next day I pulled out my crockpot and made this Slow Cooker Ginger Beef, which came out better then I ever anticipated.
I ended up using 2 pounds of cubed beef because A.) I have growing boys and the older one is starting to eat more like a man than a child and B.) I'm always cooking for leftovers now. I simply don't have time to cook every night so I'm shooting for 1-2 nights of pulling out leftovers for quick lunches and dinners.
The only negative feedback I received was from the soon-to-be-11-year-old who said there was TOO much gravy. He was right - - what I made could have probably handled another pound or 2 of beef but that's ok, I'd rather have it a little over-sauced. That said, if you are making something similar with less beef you may want to cut the recipe in half. Or if you're family is bigger use even more beef and keep everything the same.
Here's what I did...
Ingredients
- ¼ low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated (10g)
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- â…“ cup oat flour (40g)
- 2 pounds cubed beef
Instructions
Put all the ingredients in the slow cooker except the beef and whisk together.
Add the beef, toss to coat.
That's it. You're pretty much done. I cooked it on high for 4 hours. Six hours on low should be more than enough since it's already cut in cubes.
Before we sat down to dinner I popped a steam-able bag of broccoli in the microwave followed by a bag of 90-second brown rice. Dinner was ready in moments...
... and I rescued us from eating out once again.
📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Ginger Beef
Ingredients
- ¼ low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 inch fresh ginger grated (10g)
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- â…“ cup oat flour 40g
- 2 pounds cubed beef
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients in the slow cooker except the beef and whisk together.¼ low sodium soy sauce, 2 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon molasses, 2 tablespoon sesame oil, 2 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 inch fresh ginger, 3 cloves of garlic, ⅓ cup oat flour
- Add the beef, toss to coat.2 pounds cubed beef
- That's it. You're pretty much done. I cooked it on high for 4 hours. Six hours on low should be more than enough since it's already cut in cubes.
- I popped a steam-able bag of broccoli in the microwave followed by a bag of 90-second brown rice.
Kristie
Thanks. I ended up making my own oat flour - super easy. My kids loved this meal. There wasn't a bite left!
Kristie
I am having a hard time finding oat flour. Can I use all purpose flour?
Hazel
I used spelt flour and it came out great - I imagine any flour would work as it's acting mainly as a thickening agent for the sauce
roni
Totally, it is only for thickening. You can also take old fashioned oats and blend them in the processor to make your own flour. I do that all the time.
Sheri
Saved to Evernote!
Have you ever thought about getting a pressure cooker? It acts like a slow cooker, but takes less time. So something that might take 4 hours or so in a crock pot might take only an hour or less in the pressure cooker. I can make a batch of brown rice in about 45 minutes, but it's set and forget, no going back to check for boilovers etc, perfect every time. I cooked chili from soaked dry beans in about an hour, and stew takes even less time.
Lola
This looks soooo good. It reminds me (in looks only) of a mexican dish called carne guisada. But it has different flavors -- cumin, garlic, tomato bouillon, pepper, etc.
Hazel
Hi Roni - had a housekeepers cut joint of beef ready to go in the slow cooker this morning. I was going to do our usual balsamic sauce but this looked too good, so I've just mixed it all up and switched it onto low for 7/8 hours....should come out like shredded or pulled beef! Wish me luck
roni
Awesome! Can't wait to hear how it comes out!
Hazel
Well it came out fabulous....tasty,tender. Husband LOVED it as did I, older two kids smothered it in tomato ketchup (natch ) and then ate it all up and miss toddler had a screaming tantrum and refused to sit at the table because it wasn't fish fingers! But then she also did that last night when it WAS fish fingers so what do you do? Haha
So all round a success and I'll do it again....highly recommend the pulled beef option....the sandwiches and salads with leftovers have been amazeball!
Krista
Whoa that looks good! I love using my slow cooker in the warmer months as much as colder months because it doesn't heat up the house.