My meals last week were less than inspired. Things have been stressful at work, what with deadlines lurking around every corner, and as the produce in my refrigerator slowly dwindled, I didn’t have the energy to go grocery shopping to replace it. I ended up eating more “meals” that consisted of snack foods or cereal than I’d like to admit, due to the lack of fresh food and (admittedly) my own laziness. But inspiration struck late last week when the Random Thought Fairy struck and filled my head with one phrase: Beef and Broccoli.

I don’t think I’ve ever actually eaten beef and broccoli with real beef, but when the notion of it popped into my head, I had to have it. I serendipitously had Gardein beefless tips and broccoli in the freezer, and my pantry is always well-stocked with grains, so I knew I was set. I roughly followed this recipe and came up with a super simple, delicious meal.

Simple and delicious.

I don’t often use frozen broccoli, but I like to keep various frozen veggies on hand for moments of laziness like this one. And in this recipe, it worked perfectly – the star of the show was the simple, sweet sauce. Other than the 45 or so minutes it took to cook the brown rice, it came together pretty quickly, too. I’ll definitely be adding this recipe to my roster of quick, go-to meals!

Are there any foods you never had as an omnivore but now enjoy in their vegan versions?