THIS RECIPE IS GLUTEN FREE DAIRY FREE AND REFINED SUGAR FREE, IT CONTAINS GRAINS AND IS NOT VEGAN
Yay! I'm so excited to have Mallory kicking us off in this Expand from the Bland- Guest Blog Series.
We here at Haws Bees recognize that not everyone who enjoys our honey has the same eating habits as us! In fact we suspect that very few do. Although we love to provide recipes for those who eat as we do and are still very much passionate about that we are doing a guest series to give ideas to other Haws Bees Honey Lovers who want to expand from the bland and try something new!
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Hi! I am Mallery—a wife to my best friend (who I met in 7th grade!), a mom to two fun children: Tatum and Ryker; and the owner of Shoogies AZ, a business based on providing the softest and yummiest cakes, cookies, and other baked goods in Mesa, Arizona!
Because of the atmosphere of constantly being around so many delicious goodies, it can be very hard, almost nearly impossible not to eat what I’m baking.
That’s why I had to figure out a way to keep myself on track and not go overboard with sugar.
And so I decided to start meal prepping!
I work full-time as a dental hygienist and get at the most an hour lunch to rush home, make myself a meal, brush my teeth (you know I have to!), and rush right on back to work. I hated coming home for lunch and not having anything hearty or healthy to eat, which would result in me just slapping together whatever was on hand in my kitchen.
I knew something had to change to balance my eating habits as well as make lunchtime run smoother. And that’s why I thought, “I should totally meal prep!”
Now, I thought I’d hatemeal prepping. When I would think of meal prepping, I’d think that the food would have to taste bland because it was “healthy”. All the foods that ran into my mind were: dry chicken, raw broccoli, cut up peppers—all day, every day.
In the words of Weezer, “Say it ain’t so!”
Enter Pinterest.
I searched meal prep ideas and found some that didn’t sound half bad, so I tried them out and I have stuck with two that just blew me away! They tasted really good, which says quite a bit about the recipes, because I love sugar (obviously, right?) and don’t care for “healthy” foods.
But these meals I came across were absolutely amazing! They included all the necessary macronutrients for a meal with vegetables (good carbs!) being the majority of the bowl, a fistful of protein, cooked in some olive oil for the fats, and better yet—has great flavor that even made my husband happy!
Did you hear that last part? HUSBAND APPROVED! And not only generalized, my husband approved—a man who is very picky, a man who when he hears the word healthy, shakes his head and turns away.
So you know these meals are actually really good!
I am going to share the recipe for the beef and broccoli “stir fry” I have been making almost weekly for my meals. Not only because it’s amazing, but the best part? The one ingredient that just brings the whole recipe together—the local honey from Haws Bees Honey!
Que chef’s kiss!
Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do at our house!
Beef, Broccoli, and Carrot Stir Fry
*This will make approximately 4 day’s worth of meal prep meals
Ingredients:
2 lbs choice of steak (I use what’s on sale - mainly round sirloin tip steaks or bottom round)
2 Tbsp Olive oil, divided
3 cups broccoli, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled & sliced
Salt & pepper for seasoning
Sauce
1/4 cup Lite Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp honey (use Haws Bees Honey!)
2 Tbsp minced garlic (can use two cloves of minced garlic)
1 tsp chili powder
*Serve over small portion of white rice or cauliflower rice
Directions:
1. Wash and peel/chop broccoli and carrots
2. Place 1 Tbsp oil into pan on stovetop and cook veggies until desired tenderness
3. While veggies are cooking, mix all ingredients for the sauce into a mixing bowl (big enough to pour veggies/meat in too) and whisk together—set aside
*If using honey that has thickened/crystalized, don’t worry, the heat from cooking the meat and veggies will soften it when everything is mixed together.
4. When veggies are done cooking, place in sauce bowl, stir to evenly coat
5. Cut steak into thin strips and pour remaining Tbsp of oil into pan
6. Thoroughly cook meat until desired doneness
*If there is too much liquid in the pan, strain in colander and place meat back into pan
**Always cook meat to an internal temp of 145 degrees for safe consumption
7. While meat is cooking, cook either white or cauliflower rice according to package instructions
-We make white rice by using a ratio of 1:2
-Ex: If we are making this exact recipe, I would pour 1 cup of dry rice into a pot and add 2 cups of water to that pot, bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low and let simmer for 10-15 min until my desired consistency of rice is reached
8. Once meat is done cooking, place into the sauce bowl along with the vegetables, stir to evenly coat the meat with sauce, and season with salt/pepper
9. In four Tupperwares or meal prep bowls, place a light amount of rice on the bottom and top with stir fry—distribute any remaining sauce over the tops of each bowl
10. Enjoy!
So there you have it! Such an easy recipe and delicious too!
A little bit about us:
At Shoogies AZ, we make simple treats that are good enough to satisfy any sweet tooth you are having! We currently run our entire business through the awesome help of customers found on Instagram and their passing along the word to their friends and family members! We definitely couldn’t do what we do without all their help!
We love the joy our baked goods bring to others and enjoy seeing their faces light up when they take their first bite and say, “Dang! That’s good!”
Ever since I was little, my dad made our family’s sugar cookies for the holiday season and we loved to smear a big slab of frosting on top, put in the fridge, and enjoy throughout the days ahead. In fact, I was making our sugar cookies the night I went into labor with my daughter and had my mother in law bring me a whole container of them after I had my baby!
We believe our sugar cookies are the softest and yummiest cookies you’ll ever try, and trust me, I don’t even really like sugar cookies! (I know, weird…)
As for the cakes we bake, they are so rich, soft, and dense, you won’t even regret eating almost the whole thing because of how amazing the whole ensemble is! They’re like little bites of heaven!
Don’t believe us? Just try them!
We enjoy trying new recipes, be it new meal preps, or new cake recipes and we share them all on Instagram at @shoogies_az ! So be sure to check us out!
If you try your hand at this recipe and like it, make sure to check us out on Instagram for other great meal prep recipes we try and tag us if you make this because we would love to see it!
Or for those who don’t have Instagram, we just launched our website: http://shoogies-az.com , where we have all our menu items listed and forms to order your own treats for your next event or to just treat yourself!