15 Minute Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

This was a recipe my mom made a lot and I love the combination of beef and broccoli together. 

Soy sauce is often added to beef and broccoli because it’s an asian dish. Soy is not the superfood it’s touted to be! When long fermented, soy adds a great flavor to your food. BUT if it is not properly prepared, it can have significant detrimental effects to your health, mostly related to estrogen dominance symptoms in both men and women. These symptoms include things like moodiness, weight gain, breast development in men, heavy periods in women, and water retention.  Luckily, commercially available long fermented soy sauce is now available at many grocery stores! Be sure the soy sauce you buy is long fermented.

You can serve this on it’s own or add on top of properly prepared wild rice.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients for Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

• 3-4 stalks of Broccoli (approximately 3-4 cups of cut broccoli)

• 1 lb Beef: Any cut will work, you want a cut that’s more tender. Loin roast cut was what I had on hand.

• 3 tbsp Tallow or Lard

• 1 tbsp Soy Sauce

• Salt

Directions for Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Rinse broccoli. Trim off the stalks and any fibrous pieces, since these will not cook completely in 15 minutes. Cut broccoli into similarly sized pieces for even cooking.

Slice beef against the grain into long pieces. Don’t skimp on the cut! A tough cut of beef will make this a less enjoyable dish.

Melt tallow or lard in a pan. Heat to high and add broccoli pieces quickly.

Reduce heat to medium and stir broccoli. Cover with a lid for additional steaming. Allow broccoli to cook for about 8 minutes until soft.

Add sliced beef to the pan. Sprinkle additional soy sauce over the beef. Cover again.

Stir every 2 minutes to ensure even cooking.

When beef is just cooked, remove from heat and allow to rest slightly. Salt to taste so you don’t add too much soy sauce. I added about six shakes of salt to the entire dish.

Serve on it’s own, or on top of properly prepared wild rice. Serve alongside soy sauce on the table.

15 Minute Meal: Garlic Scallops

Sourcing well is always important for any meat. In landlocked states, it’s a great idea to buy flash frozen seafood because it is fresher. Check where your scallops are caught. You want wild caught scallops and not caught off the coast of China if possible. Scallops are filter food through the water where they live. Try to get clean living scallops.

If you get live scallops, make sure to put them in salt water for several hours to allow them to expel their sand. You can change the water as needed.

Scallops are rich in iodine. Iodine is an important mineral for our bodies.  Iodine is used by the body to make hormones in your thyroid. Fluorine and chlorine compete with iodine in your thyroid because they’re a similar enough molecule. Both fluorine and chlorine are toxic to our cells, meaning they damage the cells function. If there is not enough iodine in your cells, your body will quickly uptake whatever it can find that’s closest - meaning fluorine and chlorine. Being well nourished and having enough iodine will prevent your body from trying to use fluorine or chlorine in your thyroid. Learn more about iodine and why we need it in this blog post.

Ingredients for Garlic Scallops:

• 16 oz Wild Caught Scallops

• 3 tbsp Butter

• 4 Large Cloves of Garlic

• ¼ cup White Wine

• Pinch of Cayenne Pepper

• 3-4 Shakes of Salt

• Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Directions for Garlic Scallops:

If your scallops are frozen, thaw them on the counter for approximately 30 minutes.

Rinse scallops. Mince garlic. Add butter into cast iron pan or other heavy skillet and heat medium high heat.

Add the garlic to the hot butter. Stir to coat. Continue to stir on medium high heat until the garlic starts to brown. Do not allow the garlic to burn. It will burn quickly.

Add the scallops to the hot butter and pan. Brown the scallops on both sides. If you have too much liquid from your scallops, drain off the liquid. Add more butter so they will brown.

When scallops are brown, add white wine, cayenne pepper, some salt, and freshly ground pepper.

Cook for a few minutes on the higher heat until the wine cooks off. Do not overcook the scallops!

Serve hot on their own or alongside a thick and hearty slice of sourdough bread with butter.

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Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stroganoff is one of my mom’s favorite go-to meals.  The creamy richness is so filling and comforting, especially on a cold night. It was one of my favorite dinners! It was quite sad during the period of time when I was reacting to dairy and could not eat it. Now that I’ve healed by doing the GAPS Protocol, I love this delicious meal made with real ingredients!

If you don’t have beef, you can substitute any red meat in this dish. In fact, the strong flavor of this dish will hide any potential gamey flavor from venison or elk. To make this dish even faster, you can simply cut up your meat, add 8 oz of this real food cream of mushroom soup and a cup of stock, simmer and then add more sour cream at the end for added richness. You can also add extra mushrooms and onions if you love them.

We used to eat beef stroganoff with the traditional egg noodles. I’ve found however that I very much enjoy it over properly prepared rice. You could also do it over riced cauliflower, zoodles or your favorite alternative noodle. 

This is legal on Full GAPS because of the cream. If you substitute only sour cream instead, it is legal on GAPS Stage 4. 

Ingredients for Beef Stroganoff:

• 1 lbs Beef Rump Roast

• 1 lb Fresh Mushrooms (4-5 cups sliced)

• ½ onion

• 3 cloves Garlic Cloves

• 4 tbsp Butter 

• 1 cup Meat Stock

• 4 -6 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme 

• 1 ½ tbsp Beef Gelatin Powder

• 1 cup Cream or Milk

• 2 tbsp Cooking Sherry

• 1 cup Sour Cream

Directions for Beef Stroganoff:

To a pot, add 4 tbsp of butter. Heat over medium heat.

Roughly chop mushrooms, onion and garlic.

Slice the meat against the grain into long, thin strips. 

Add onion to pan. Cook for several minutes on medium heat.

Add mushrooms and garlic to pan and cook. Add a bit of stock to the pan to keep things from burning, approximately 2 tbsp, and help soften the mushrooms. Turn the heat off and allow to sit.

Add ½ cup of stock to a small pot. Warm on the stove. When warmed to ‘blood temperature” add beef gelatin powder. You know it’s hot enough when you can stick your finger in but not leave it in. Stir constantly to activate the gelatin powder.

Add the gelatin mixture to the pot of mushrooms and onions and turn the heat back up to medium.

Add cream to mixture; stir. Turn heat up to medium high. Allow mixture to reduce for ten minutes. 

Add sliced beef and sherry to mixture. Add salt and pepper. Stir to coat and cover. Let simmer for 3-4 minutes. Your goal is to have the middle of the beef still slightly pink. Check and stir.

Remove from heat and add in the sour cream.

Stir until sour cream is dissolved. Enjoy!

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Beef Stroganoff

Author: The Be Well Clinic

Ingredients

• 1 lbs Beef Rump Roast
• 1 lb Fresh Mushrooms (4-5 cups sliced)
• ½ onion
• 3 cloves Garlic Cloves
• 4 tbsp Butter
• 1 cup Meat Stock
• 6 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
• 1 ½ tbsp Beef Gelatin Powder
• 1 cup Cream or Milk
• 2 tbsp Cooking Sherry
• 1 cup Sour Cream

Instructions

1. To a pot, add 4 tbsp of butter. Heat over medium heat.
2. Roughly chop mushrooms, onion and garlic.
3. Slice the meat against the grain into long, thin strips.
4. Add onion to pan. Cook for several minutes on medium heat.
5. Add mushrooms and garlic to pan and cook. Add a bit of stock to the pan to keep things from burning, approximately 2 tbsp, and help soften the mushrooms. Turn the heat off and allow to sit.
6. Add ½ cup of stock to a small pot. Warm on the stove. When warmed to ‘blood temperature” add beef gelatin powder. You know it’s hot enough when you can stick your finger in but not leave it in. Stir constantly to activate the gelatin powder.
7. Add the gelatin mixture to the pot of mushrooms and onions and turn the heat back up to medium.
8. Add cream to mixture; stir. Turn heat up to medium high. Allow mixture to reduce for ten minutes.
9. Add sliced beef and sherry to mixture. Add salt and pepper. Stir to coat and cover. Let simmer for 3-4 minutes. Your goal is to have the middle of the beef still slightly pink. Check and stir.
10. Remove from heat and add in the sour cream.
11. Stir until sour cream is dissolved. Enjoy!

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15 Minute Meal: Stirfry

Stir fry is a very versatile dish because you can make it out of practically anything and flavor it any way that you want. Certain vegetables do tend to pair with certain flavor profiles so if you’re at a loss of what flavors to use, let your vegetables be your guide.

In my brain, there are two types of stir fry. There is an Asian stir fry that uses soy sauce and a “fresh” stir fry that is merely sauteed vegetables and herbs. While most people may think of stir fry as primarily Asian, my preference most of the time is a “fresh” soy sauceless stir fry. 

To make stir fry, simply use any vegetables that you have in the fridge; even ones that are starting to wilt! This is a great way to use up vegetables. Cut them into pieces. Determine the order you will add them to the pan depending on how long they will take to cook i.e. carrots and onions will go in first because they take much longer to cook than tomatoes or greens. 

This is also an excellent recipe to practice listening to your body. You can use the vegetable mixture that your body has been interested in, even if they don’t fit another recipe. You can make it as a small, single serving of only the vegetables that you are interested in. For example, for this particular stir fry, I used only the vegetables that I was craving at that time. I had thought about adding onions as well but they didn’t sound very good to me when it came time to cook so I simply didn’t use them!

As you are adding vegetables, keep an eye on the amount of fat in your pan. Some vegetables, such as eggplant or zucchini, will soak up a lot of the fat and you may need to add more as you go. Additionally to get a delicious flavor throughout, add a little salt and herbs each time you add a new vegetable.

You can easily add a cut of meat to the pan, such as thinly sliced chicken or beef strips, for an easy one pot dish or you can serve the stir fry as a side alongside a steak or other meat dish. 

Ingredients for Stirfry:

For today’s stir fry I will be using:

• Zucchini

• Carrots

• Bok Choy

• Brussel Sprouts

• Celery

• Peppers

• Oregano

• Thyme

• Rosemary

You will also need the fat of your choice.

Directions for Stirfry:

Cut all your vegetables. I like to keep my vegetables relatively the same size, especially by thickness. I find I much more enjoy spears in stir fry than rounds. Have all your vegetables ready to go before you start cooking your stir fry. Once you start cooking, it will go too fast to be chopping while you are cooking.

via GIPHY

To a cast iron pan, add 2-3 tbsp of the fat of your choice. Today I am using tallow. When the fat is simmering in your pan, add your first vegetable.

Continue to add vegetables in the order that it takes for them to be done. Keep an eye on your fat and add more as needed. 

Add salt to each vegetable type as you add it. An easy way to do this is to add it to the top of the pan and then salt it as you would as if it was on the table; then stir in to the other vegetables.

Remember that each vegetable will continue to cook as you continue to add other vegetables. It takes practice to know how long to cook vegetables to your desired softness so keep cooking and don’t get discouraged!

Go as bold or as simple with flavors as you want. 

Enjoy!

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15 Minute Meals: Stirfry

Author: The Be Well Clinic

Ingredients

• For today’s stir fry I will be using:
• Zucchini
• Carrots
• Bok Choy
• Brussel Sprouts
• Celery
• Peppers
• Oregano
• Thyme
• Rosemary
• You will also need the fat of your choice.

Instructions

1. Cut all your vegetables. I like to keep my vegetables relatively the same size, especially by thickness. I find I much more enjoy spears in stir fry than rounds. Have all your vegetables ready to go before you start cooking your stir fry. Once you start cooking, it will go too fast to be chopping while you are cooking.
2. To a cast iron pan, add 2-3 tbsp of the fat of your choice. Today I am using tallow. When the fat is simmering in your pan, add your first vegetable.
3. Continue to add vegetables in the order that it takes for them to be done. Keep an eye on your fat and add more as needed.
4. Add salt to each vegetable type as you add it. An easy way to do this is to add it to the top of the pan and then salt it as you would as if it was on the table; then stir in to the other vegetables.
5. Remember that each vegetable will continue to cook as you continue to add other vegetables. It takes practice to know how long to cook vegetables to your desired softness so keep cooking and don’t get discouraged!
6. Go as bold or as simple with flavors as you want.
7. Enjoy!

Notes:

Created using The Recipes Generator