Orange Beef and Veggies with Cauliflower Rice

After asking for "challenges" from some of the Paleo Parent fans on facebook, I decided to start off with the one I knew I could manage right away with things I had on hand.  Orange Chicken and Mongolian beef or Chinese food in general was the suggestion, so this one's for you, Becca. 

I did a little digging for some paleo friendly products to use for making Chinese food, and bought some, but I wanted to do this without those products first just to see if I could make it work.  The resulting pile of beef and vegetables was delicious and will only get better with some of these products I ordered and can't wait to try.

With soy sauce being a staple in many Chinese dishes, it proved to be a little challenging to make this without any.

Here's how I made this work.  All the ingredients can be adjusted depending on how sweet/salty/spicy you want it.

Orange Sauce

4 tablespoons butter or coconut oil
1 and 1/2 cups of fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons raw honey (this is key to help thicken the sauce)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic - minced
1 tsp. chives - finely chopped *optional
salt and pepper to taste - this is really up to each individual and the sauce is flavorful enough without it, but the addition of the salt gives it the added touch of what is missing by not using soy sauce that would have otherwise salted it.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter or coconut oil.  Add orange juice and honey, then the remaining ingredients.  Let the sauce come to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer stirring occasionally for about an hour until sauce has thickened a bit.  It will still be pretty watery even when it's ready to use.  While the sauce is simmering, you can prep the meat and vegetables.

Beef prep:

2- 6oz. sirloin steaks sliced into thin strips
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon coconut oil
6 cups mixed vegetables (I used a bag of frozen organic mixed vegetables- broccoli, carrots, cauliflower)
1/2 cup organic beef broth - make sure it's gluten free

Lay beef strips out on a clean surface and sprinkle desired amount of salt and pepper on each side.  In a large skillet, heat coconut oil over medium-high heat.  Add beef strips and brown them on each side.  Reduce heat to medium, add beef broth and vegetables and cover.  While the vegetables are cooking with the beef, you can make your fried rice.

Cauliflower fried "rice"
1 head of organic cauliflower, rinsed
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Using a cheese grater/shredder run the head of cauliflower over it over a large plate or bowl.  The pieces will look like rice.  Do this until all the florets are gone and only the stalks remain.   It should produce about 2 cups of "rice."  Heat coconut oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat and add cauliflower rice to it.  Toss rice in the oil stirring frequently for a few minutes being careful not to let it burn.  When rice starts to get slightly browned, remove from heat and keep covered. 

Put it all together -  Pour the orange sauce into the large skillet with beef and vegetables and turn the heat up for a few minutes tossing the mixture to help more moisture out and thicken the sauce further.  Serve over a scoop of cauliflower rice and drizzle any remaining sauce on top. 

The kids won't know the difference - at least mine didn't.  Enjoy, and look out for the Mongolian beef recipe with some of my new products in a few weeks!