Tangy tomato beef and broccoli stir fry (Inspired by the Chinese dish but does not have a Chinese food taste at all. It's just as delicious though, but in a different way)
Cut one pound of lean beef into really thin strips suitable for stir fry. If you're lazy and live by a Walmart you can most likely skip this step, as most of the walmarts I've been to carry beef already sliced specifically to make stir fry. (Also makes good beef jerky... a recipe for another time)
16 oz frozen broccoli (or mixed vegetables if you like. I won't tell)
1 regular size can condensed tomato soup
4 tbspn soy sauce (more or less to taste. If you want a more savory and less "sweet" or tomato taste make it 5 or 6 and it will round out. I usually do 5. I don't recommend cutting back on the tomato soup though because it's essential for the tang and that's what makes this all worth it)
1 tspn minced garlic or garlic powder
1 tspn cayenne pepper powder if you don't mind a little heat. Personally i like 3...
Anywoozles. This is pretty easy. Saute the beef first in a skillet on med high with a little oil. For a deeper flavor feel free to add a little salt and pepper as you do so. Most stir fry recipes will tell you to only cook until it's just browned, but i prefer to go a step further and give the outside a little char to it. Doesn't take long as it's so thin and gives it a crisper and more steak like texture. Remove from pan, do a little booty shake to express your pleasure.
While doing that step, combine the soy sauce, soup, and garlic into a bowl.
Next, add maybe half of the sauce mixture to the same pan still on med high then add the frozen veggies. Stir frequently, the sauce will bubble a little, it's fine. Stir often and cook until just barely getting hot for most pieces. Don't worry if the big pieces of broccoli are still a little cold in the middle because the veggies will still be staying in the hot pan for a little bit and we want the veggies to stay crispy and not get mushy, which will happen if overcooked.
Once that's done, leave veggies and sauce in there and add back in the beef and add the rest of the sauce and stir it all together until everything is adequately saucy. Let the sauce start to simmer again, not quite boiling but bubbling a little. Let simmer in this state until the sauce has absorbed mostly into the food and the liquid has somewhat thickened around it and it isn't liquidy. It won't fully thicken as we used no corn starch, but i prefer it this way because I've found adding starch to this makes it mushy. It's fine, it will thicken enough, and everything will be fully coated and have lots of flavor absorbed into it. The veggies and meat will be nice and crispy while still saucy and very flavorful.
I highly recommend, is very tasty.