Brent Schrader

Keto-Friendly Chicken Fried Steak

February 21, 2018February 20, 2018by Brent Schrader1 Comment

Heather and I are doing a great job eating well to kick off 2018. That means we’ve avoided most fried foods, and definitely avoided ordering in junk food. We feel great, and are fitting into clothes better, and that says a lot considering we’re also sleep training our almost nine (!##@!) month old son. Despite our good habits, we still have the occasional craving.

Chicken fried steak wasn’t a big staple for either of us growing up, but let’s be honest—it sounds amazing. Amazing in that it sounds like it’s too unhealthy to really be something you should eat. We didn’t let that stop us from making a low-carb friendly version. I’ve been strictly keto for the past 2 months, and eventually I’ll write more about my results either here or elsewhere, but for now, here’s a recipe for your keto kitchen. If you want to hear more about what I’ve been doing (and how I’ve lost about 30 pounds) let me know in the comments.

Enough yapping, on to the recipe…

Continue reading “Keto-Friendly Chicken Fried Steak”

Quick Spinach and Mushroom Sauté

February 14, 2018February 20, 2018by Brent SchraderLeave a comment

Do you struggle to get enough vegetables into your day? I have been following a pretty strict ketogenic diet for the past 6 weeks, and vegetable intake has been a struggle. My appetite has been low and I’m feeling great, but I haven’t been hungry for vegetables. That said, the need for mushrooms hit hard and fast this weekend.

In turn, we decided to put together a super easy side dish that would satisfy my craving. The ghee we used is Salted White Truffle from 4th & Hearth. The combination of truffle, spinach, and mushroom makes for an umami explosion you won’t want to miss. This didn’t last in the house long enough for us to serve it as a standard side, but I bet it would go great with just about any protein you choose. Enjoy!

Continue reading “Quick Spinach and Mushroom Sauté”

Caesar Marinated Chicken Thighs

February 7, 2018February 6, 2018by Brent SchraderLeave a comment

Over the past 6 weeks, Heather and I have been trying to focus more on eating real food and making straightforward recipes. There’s something about having an eight-month-old at home, and working on sleep training, that makes one want to minimize any extra work outside the essentials. In that vein, we’ve always been a big fan of batch cooking, and sheets of chicken thighs (or other cuts of chicken) have always been a standard. In a pinch, we’ll bake chicken thighs with just salt and pepper, but usually we prefer more flavor.

Last year we cooked up a delicious, mayonnaise based Caesar dressing that knocked our socks off. We figured it would make a good marinade as well, and we were right. This adds a nice flavor and a thin crust to the thighs that take the flavor up a level. You can eat these on their own, or slice them up and add them to a chicken Caesar salad! However you choose to eat them, you won’t be disappointed.

Continue reading “Caesar Marinated Chicken Thighs”

Sheet Pan Chicken, Artichoke, and Olive Bake

January 24, 2018January 23, 2018by Brent Schrader1 Comment

We’re nearing the end of January, and like many others, we’ve refocused on healthy eating habits this month. Although we spent the past few days on the west coast for a work meeting, that didn’t get in the way of eating within our game plan. It’s been busy at work for both of us, so easy recipes have been really important.

This sheet pan bake is a big hit for us because it took so little time to get together and it was ready to eat within an hour. As you look to plan your food for the week, we hope you’ll add it to the shopping list. We were able to pick up everything we needed from our local Costco, although you could easily do the same thing at the grocery store.

Continue reading “Sheet Pan Chicken, Artichoke, and Olive Bake”

Curry-Rubbed Top Round Roast

January 17, 2018January 16, 2018by Brent Schrader1 Comment

We’ve had an eventful start to the new year—a few days after returning to work, our son Otto woke up with pink eye. To add to that, he had a persistent cold (that he happily shared with mom and dad) which developed into a mild ear infection. His temperament has been cheery, but he hates his antibiotic with a passion. If that didn’t seem to be enough, just a few days ago, Otto started to crawl. As amazing and exciting of a milestone as this is for him, we were not (and are still not) ready to be landlords of a mobile baby.

Despite these life events, we’ve been busier in the kitchen than ever. Part of this past weekend was conducting recipe testing for our friend Russ, in anticipation of his new cookbook (read more about that here), and we found ourselves left with a nice cut of top round roast. You know the story: our choices were either a 1.5 lb roast or a 5 lb roast when we only needed 3 lbs. What do we do with leftover meat? Make new recipes.

With that, we decided to dry-rub the roast in curry. If you’ve been with us for some time, you know we’re fans of curry (here are a few select examples). Fun fact: the concept of curry is a completely British/American invention, as there isn’t one “curry powder” in traditional cuisine. Indian and African dishes that require a blend of spices (what we call a curry), vary in ingredients and ratios, and were often ground for the meal being prepared. This is partly why store-bought curry powders often taste similar, but not exactly the same—there’s no master formula. We used the West African Curry blend from the Teeny Tiny Spice Company of Vermont for this recipe, but I think any curry powder will work.

Continue reading “Curry-Rubbed Top Round Roast”