Slow Cooker Asian Beef and Broccoli

I have too many things to say about Asian Beef and Broccoli, so I'm going to list them in a total stream of conscious manner. My apologies in advance for the rambling.

1. I made this for my mom and dad who were visiting from Buffalo. They LOVED it. 
2. You could stretch this meal even further by adding more veggies. I'm thinking snow peas or water chestnuts would be divine. 
3. This is my favorite recipe that I've made in a while. 
4. Why is this my favorite? Because it's absolutely delicious and ridiculously easy. (If I'm completely honest, the easy part might be why it's my favorite. I'm lazy.)
5. You make Asian Beef and Broccoli in the slow cooker.
6. Whenever I cook dinner in the slow cooker, I think of my crockpot-loving friend, Amy. She has a goal to make 100 new recipes in 2013 and is chronicling her adventures at Chez George. 100 new recipes in one year...I'm totally impressed.
7. I like the slow cooker because it makes my life easier. I have been a little too honest on this blog about how much I like to watch TV. If I have an appliance that allows me to sit on my duff while dinner perks away, I'm totally on board with that. 
8. I have an episode of Catfish on my DVR, and I think I'm going to watch it now. 

Slow Cooker Asian Beef and Broccoli
Adapted from Table for Two
Serves: 6-8

1 1/2 cups beef consomme*
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 1/2 pounds boneless rump roast (I trim off any big chunks of fat.)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 heads broccoli**, cut into florets
Hot cooked rice, for serving

Mix together beef consomme, soy sauce, dark brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger. Place roast in the slow cooker and pour liquid mixture on top. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until beef is tender and shreds very easily.

Remove beef from the slow cooker and use two forks to shred into bite-sized pieces. Put a few spoonfuls of the cooking liquid in a little bowl and mix in cornstarch until it's dissolved. Pour cornstarch mixture back into the liquid in the slow cooker and stir to combine. Add in shredded beef and broccoli florets. Stir until everything is evenly coated. Cover and turn heat to high. Cook on high heat for 30-45 minutes, until broccoli is crisp tender. Serve over cooked rice.

*I did a bit of official research to find out what beef consomme is. (Ahem, I Googled it.) It's basically fancy-pants beef broth cooked with egg whites and beef to help thicken it. Apparently, real beef consomme is quite time consuming to make. You know what isn't time consuming? Picking up a can of Campbell's Beef Consomme in the soup aisle. If you can't find beef consomme or don't feel like using it, substitute beef broth.
**You could absolutely substitute frozen broccoli.