Asian Ground Beef Stir-fry

How was everyone's Fourth of July holiday weekend? Mine was super relaxing and a total blast! The hubs and I took off on a 7 hour drive for my in-laws on Thursday. They live down in Pembroke Pines...that's between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami if you don't know South Florida too well. AKA the land of crazy drivers, beautiful beaches, and O.M.G...Cuban food!! Let me count the ways I did NOT eat paleo this weekend. Thursday night was a plate of citrus chicken, rice, beans, a fried egg, a piece of REAL Cuban bread, and plantains maduros (ripe plantains...the sweet, sticky ones). Sweet Jesus, it was incredible. Friday morning, Papi brought home Cuban pastelitos (little pastries) with guava and cheese from the cutest authentic Cuban bakery in Pines, Vicky Bakery. Better than any sort of American pastry...EVER. I think I ate three. #sorrynotsorry. Then we ate vaca frita and grilled chicken wings for lunch...with more rice and beans. Though I will say, I was pretty reserved on my rice and beans portions since I didn't want to go off the deep end. Bahaha, too late! My in-laws make enough food to feed an army, so we got to eat leftovers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner...which again, I'm really not sorry about. Add an egg and anytime can be breakfast time! I made sure to get my fill of maduros before I left. Man, those little babies are dangerously delicious. All in all, I'd call it another successful trip down south. I'm sure you're thinking, But wait Nicole, all you talked about was eating? And to that I say, Yeah, exactly. It's what I live for! I guess I could tell you that the sunshine was also amazing, both in the pool and our three trips to the beach. Ahh, I miss the days when you didn't have to drive hours to get to a beach. My husband does too, which is why we went to the beach twice in one day. ...don't ask. #worthit  

Well because we didn't get back into town until late Sunday night, dinner had to be quick and easy on Monday after I went grocery shopping. Behold, ground beef stir-fry. Easy prep work, nothing overly complicated in the cooking process, but the flavors are awesome! 

Asian Ground Beef Stir-fry

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Special Tools:
Large saute pan

Ingredients:
1 lb of grass-fed beef
1/2 large onion, sliced
1/4 red bell pepper, sliced
1/4 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1/4 green bell pepper, sliced
3 heads of baby bok choy, sliced, about 1 cup
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
2 carrots, sliced
1 tbsp of ghee or fat of your choice
2 tbsp of minced garlic
2 tbsp of minced ginger
1/4 cup of coconut aminos, divided
1 tbsp of rice vinegar
1 tsp of fish sauce
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:
1. Place the sauté pan over medium-high heat and melt the ghee. Add the garlic and ginger and stir around until fragrant, about 30-45 seconds. 
2. Add the beef and begin browning the meat, breaking it up into small bites with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
3. When it's nearly cooked through, add in 2 tbsp of coconut aminos, the rice vinegar, and the fish sauce. Continue sautéing until the meat is no longer pink. Strain off the beef onto a plate and set aside, leaving the fat and juices behind.
4. Add the onion, peppers, carrots, and mushrooms to the pan and move around to coat in the juices. Season with salt and pepper. 
5. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of coconut aminos and continue sautéing for 7-10 minutes. Add the bok choy and continuing cooking until the leaves begin to wilt.
6. Return the beef and any juices that settled on the plate back into the pan and stir well to combine. 
7. Enjoy with some chop sticks. You'll just feel more cultured ;o)