I have never been much of a cook. Neither was my mother. Neither was hers. I come by the whole “wander off and the food burns” thing pretty honestly. I don’t enjoy it and by some stroke of luck, I’ve landed with a guy who not only enjoys cooking but he’s good at it. REALLY good at it. So I find myself deferring to him on almost all things culinary.

Imagine my surprise when one night I come home after BJJ class to all the ingredients for laid out and ready for me to cook with an eager Dave waiting in the wings. He wasn’t saying “Hey woman, you cook tonight, I’m sick of it.” – he’d misread a text and thought I’d said I would make my beef and broccoli that night. And he was excited. About something that I cook. He said his versions didn’t come out as well as mine. His habit of tinkering with recipes (I call that “Dave-ifying”) actually made it more complicated and less tasty to him.

The recipe is quick combo I found online and then made even simpler. Simplifying is actually gracious – I made it as basic and lazy as possible. I looked at the list of 8 ingredients and thought “Well, I don’t have that and I don’t like that other thing. That third thing is a lot of effort. Can I cook this without going through all that effort?” What I came up with was this:

Lazy Bones Beef and Broccoli

Serves: 2-4. In our house, 2 and maybe a modest lunch. Reheats OK.
Time: I’m not sure, probably less than 30 min from fridge to table

• 1 pound+ package of beef (we prefer sirloin tips)
• 1 large package of frozen broccoli florets
• Coconut aminos to taste (Trader Joe’s is good and stupid cheap)
• Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat a non-stick skillet or wok over medium heat. If necessary, chop the beef into smaller chunks. Sprinkle/grind salt and pepper over the meat. Toss beef into the pan – if the beef is really lean, you may want to throw in a little oil to lube things up. Splash beef with coconut aminos. Stir periodically. Splash with coconut aminos again. Several minutes before the beef has reached your desired level of doneness (Don’t ask me how many minutes, I’m not that precise), throw in the frozen broccoli.  Toss it around and watch the steam up like dry ice. Splash some coconut aminos on the broccoli and toss it around. Throw a pan cover over the mixture to trap in the moisture and steam the broccoli. Stir periodically. When the broccoli is warm and has turned a little darker in color, you’re done.