Crockpot Beef and Broccoli

I have always LOVED beef broccoli from Safeway.  As a kid I would ride my bike down the street to the local Safeway and use all my babysitting money buying beef broccoli and fried rice; it's a wonder that I wasn't fatter!  There was just something about the broccoli soaking in all that wonderful juice and heated to the perfect "under the lamp" temperature.  I have never needed to learn to make it because I have always lived by a Safeway (or a Chinese restaurant), and why reinvent the wheel?!  Well now I find myself in Okinawa with no Safeway or Chinese restaurant to be found!!  What's a girl to do!!

There are a lot of copycat recipes out there, but none of which holds even the slightest candle to my beloved Safeway!  They left some pretty big shoes to fill.  Well low-and-behold the other day I came across the real deal.  I was reluctant to try it...but am so glad that I did!!  It also happens to be a crockpot recipe which is an even bigger bonus in my book.  The way the chuck roast soaks up all the saucy goodness, and the broccoli added at the end makes for a perfect crispy goodness that completes the whole dish! 

2 lbs thinly sliced boneless chuck roast
2 cups beef broth
1 cup low sodium soy sauce
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbsp. sesame oil
5 minced garlic cloves

4 cups steamed broccoli
cooked white rice

Combine all ingredients expect broccoli and rice, in a crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours, or until the beef is cooked through and tender.  Remove the meat and pour the sauce into a large cast iron skillet.  Boil the liquid until it is reduced by half, or until the consistency is a thick syrup (you should be left with about 1- 1 1/2 cups of liquid). 

Add the beef and the broccoli to the sauce and toss.  Serve over white rice.