Beef w/ Broccoli Stir-Fry -- Quick & Easy

This evening I made Beef w/ Broccoli Stir-Fry for dinner.  To make a quick dinner, I used a 1-pound package of top round steak that was already sliced for stir-fry.  Instead of cutting up fresh broccoli, I used a bag of pre-cut fresh broccoli florets and steamed them in a covered glass casserole dish along with a few tablespoons of water for 3 minutes in the microwave.  I added one thinly sliced carrot on top of the steamed broccoli, covered them, and steamed an additional minute in the microwave; then drained and set them aside.  I minced 2 large cloves of garlic and sliced a green spring onion and set it aside.  I heated a tablespoon or so of extra virgin coconut oil on medium-high heat in my wok, added a couple pinches of red pepper flakes and the beef and stir-fried just until the meat was no longer pink.  I used a large spoon and spooned the juices off into a bowl as the meat cooked so it would sear nicely and not simmer in its own juices.  I spooned off about 1/2 cup of beef juices into my bowl and set it aside to use to make the sauce later (if you don't get enough beef juices, you can use 1/2 cup of beef broth or water to make the sauce instead).

I transferred the cooked beef to a plate and then added the minced garlic to the hot wok with a pinch of red pepper flakes and stir-fried for about a minute, then added half of the sliced green onions and poured the beef juices back into the wok; added about 3 tablespoons of organic Tamari sauce (its similar to soy sauce, but wheat free), a few grinds of sea salt, 1 teaspoon sesame oil and stirred in a heaping tablespoon of organic peanut butter to use as a thickener for the sauce.  The peanut butter provides the same texture/consistency you would normally get if you used traditional cornstarch to thicken the sauce (cashew butter can be substituted).  I tasted and adjusted the sauce for seasoning.  It makes just enough sauce to glaze and coat the stir-fry, so it is important to make the sauce flavorful.  If you prefer more sauce you can add more beef broth or a little water and increase the peanut butter. I prefer my stir-fry lightly coated and not swimming in sauce.  I added the beef, steamed broccoli and carrots to the wok and tossed it together to coat with the sauce and heated for a couple minutes, just until warmed through. I sprinkled it with the remaining sliced green onions. Hubby ate his over rice and I enjoyed mine as is.  Because of the shortcuts I used (pre-sliced beef and pre-cut fresh broccoli florets), this dinner was a snap to put together and probably only took about 20 minutes from start to finish.  I snapped a few photos for you to see below.  Enjoy!

BOOM!