Mushroom and Broccoli Stir Fry

 Before we switched to a (mostly) vegetarian diet, one of our favorite meals was Beef and Broccoli. My older daughter kept telling me how much she missed having beef and broccoli, so I decided to adapt that original recipe and I actually like it even better!

Ingredients:

1 lb mushrooms, sliced (I like to use baby bellas, but feel free to substitute - if you're using meat, you'll want 1/2-1 lb thin sliced beef)

salt

2lbs frozen broccoli florets, thawed (you can also use fresh if you have it, but frozen cooks a little more tender and is usually less expensive)

sauce: 

1/2 C soy sauce

2 T cornstarch

about 1 T minced garlic (if you don't like as much garlic, just use 1/2 T)

3 T sugar or honey

3 T apple cider vinegar

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 - 1 T sriracha (use the lesser amount if you don't want it to taste spicy)

1/2 C vegetable (or beef) broth

Directions:

• Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Add a little oil or water to pan and allow it to heat. Add mushrooms, sprinkle with salt*, and cook until they are browned. (If using beef, just barely brown it as it will continue to cook throughout the rest of the process)
• While the mushrooms are cooking, whisk all of the sauce ingredients together. (I do this in a measuring cup to cut down on dishes)
• When mushrooms are browned to your liking, add the sauce and broccoli to the pan. Cook until broccoli is cooked through and sauce has thickened slightly. You should notice the sauce getting darker brown and slightly shiny as it cooks.
• Serve hot over rice.

notes: 

Salting the mushrooms helps to dry them out better so you don't end up with slimy mushrooms. If you are using beef, do NOT salt it unless you want it super chewy.

If you accidentally make it spicier than you want, add some more sugar to tone it down (this works best before adding the sauce to the dish, but can be done at any point)