Philly Cheesesteaks in a Bowl
A few years ago, we studied early American history in our homeschool. This was my favorite year of our studies to date because American history, well, any history for that matter, was a huge, gaping hole in my public education. While teaching my kids, I learned so much about the founding of this great country of ours that I had never heard before. I was truly fascinated. I fell in love with our Founding Fathers. Thankfully, my kids felt exactly the same way and our enthusiasm was contagious. We got dad on the history bandwagon as well.
We loved this history stuff so much that we decided to take a big summer vacation and visit the primary spots involved in our country’s early days: Minuteman National Park, Yorktown Battlefield, Boston, Washington DC, Williamsburg, and of course, Philadelphia.
At the time, I had been following the paleo diet for a couple years, but I was so tempted by the intoxicating aroma of the Philly cheesesteaks wafting down the streets that I decided to indulge in a small one, bread and all. When in Rome, as they say. That was the last gluten I ever ate (knowingly) and it was worth it!
Philly cheesesteaks happen to be one of my husband’s favorite foods. When we eat out and a cheesesteak is on the menu, he almost always orders it. Now that he’s on the gluten free and mostly paleo bandwagon, it’s rare that he finds a cheesesteak with gluten free bread so I knew this was something I needed to work on.
Since egg roll in a bowl is possible, I thought, why not Cheesesteak in a Bowl? And the result? One word: amazing! You have to make this. And if you feel like indulging and can find a good gluten free sandwich roll, by all means, make it a cheesesteak in a bun, but trust me, it is absolutely delicious without the bread. Cross my heart.
If you absolutely cannot eat any dairy, I’m sorry. Though honestly, the meat and veggie mix is so flavorful, you’ll be just fine. If you want to get a little of that creaminess that would come from the cheese, stir in a couple tablespoons of coconut cream or even coconut yogurt.
One more side story that I hope will encourage you: both of my children were allergic to cow’s milk as infants. This meant that I could not consume any cow dairy at all since I was exclusively breastfeeding. They were very, very sensitive and the result of my dairy consumption was intestinal bleeding for them. Not what you want for your babies! So I learned real fast how to follow a strict dairy free diet. I ate everything from tacos to cereal to pizza without any dairy (or dairy free frankenfoods) and I survived just fine. In fact, I learned that if you put enough flavor in the dish otherwise, the dairy is not necessary.
All that to say, I do love dairy and now that I can safely consume it, I do on occasion, but only when it’s worth it. If dairy derails your health in any way, then it’s not worth it. This dish, just like every other, will be just fine and totally delicious without the dairy.
Philly Cheesesteak in a Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. avocado oil
- 1 medium onion
- 2 large bell peppers any color you like
- 1 8 oz. package cremini mushrooms any mushrooms you like will do
- 2 Tbsp. grass-fed butter or ghee
- 1 1/2 lbs. top round steak or tri tip or other cut recommended by your butcher, sliced thin
- 1 Tbsp. coconut aminos
- 2-3 dashes hot sauce or to taste
- 1 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper or to taste
- 5-6 slices provolone cheese totally optional
- 2 oz. shredded grass-fed cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Cut onion and pepper in half and slice into strips.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 Tbsp. cooking oil. Add onions and peppers to pan. Sprinkle on a little salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, then add mushrooms and cook 10 minutes more, until vegetables are tender and slightly browned.
- Remove to a plate and cover with foil.
- Add butter to skillet. No need to clean it out after cooking the veggies.
- Lay meat out on the paper it came wrapped in or paper towels. Sprinkle on 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper and rub it in. Now add the meat to your hot pan.* DON'T STIR. Really, don't stir. Let the meat sit there and cook for 1 1/2-2 minutes. Now flip it around so it cooks on the other side. You should be using a tender piece of meat that will cook very quickly. This only takes 4-5 minutes total.
- Stir in the coconut aminos, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Add back in the mushrooms, onions and peppers. Stir to combine everything together.
- Turn your oven on broil.
- Taste your meat and veggie mixture and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Top with cheddar and provolone and place under broiler for 3-5 minutes, until cheese is melted.
- Serve hot!