Brent Schrader

Shrimp and Scallops in Garlic-Herb Ghee Sauce over Zoodles

October 3, 2012December 21, 2012by Brent Schrader3 Comments

Once upon a time, I was a waitress at an Italian restaurant. I loved it. I loved seeing the tomato mustasched smiles of kids with their parents digging into a plate of spaghetti. I loved the warm appreciative glow in the eyes of two people, so very much in love, enjoying an appetizer of fried calamari. I loved the hustle and bustle of tour-bus crowds scrambling in, scarfing their buffet meals, and reluctantly leaving for their hotel.

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Zesty Buffalo-Ranch Chicken Wings

September 29, 2012December 12, 2015by Brent Schrader4 Comments

Just because we had to start the season with replacement referees doesn’t mean you should be substituting your buffalo wing flavor. As a diehard Green Bay Packer fan who made these wings for the night we lost to the Seahawks, these wings were the only thing that was good about that night. I hope you all get a chance to make these, as wings are one of my favorite things to eat, and having them without the breading or other junk.

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Supreme Pizza Pasta

September 26, 2012June 2, 2014by Brent Schrader7 Comments

Supreme Pizza Pasta Recipe

After helping some family members chop up mushrooms, onions, and bell pepper for their lasagna preparation, Heather mentioned that her hands smelled like pizza. As we, mostly I, used to spend a lot of late nights eating the better part of a supreme pizza and maybe also some wings, pizza is something that I hold near and dear to my heart and stomach. Her statement made me realize most of the awesome things on pizza are meat and vegetables, not the other stuff! With a little bit of ingenuity we were able to recreate the pizza taste without the grains or cheese. This also inspired another recipe, but you’re all going to have to wait for that one.

Ingredients

2 yellow squash (peeled into zoodles)

2 Spicy Cilantro Chicken Sausages (or another clean Italian style sausage), crumbled

14 oz container of pizza sauce

1 cup diced yellow onion

1 cup diced mushrooms

1 cup diced bell pepper

1/4 cup sliced black olives

4 crushed garlic cloves

1 tsp coconut oil

Method

Heat onions and garlic in a medium heat pan with coconut oil until onions are translucent.

Add in mushrooms, onions, and black pepper and mix thoroughly for 3-5 minutes.

Add in ground sausage and zoodles and mix for 2 minutes. Our sausage is precooked, so of course add time to cook through if sausage is raw.

Add pizza sauce and stir until heated through.

Serve and enjoy! You can now satisfy that pizza hankering without feeling destroyed from the grains and dairy the next day.

Mediterranean Antipasto

September 22, 2012October 16, 2012by Brent Schrader1 Comment

This antipasto was an attempt to recreate some of our favorite dishes that typically are mainstays at your favorite Italian/Mediterranean restaurant, without the cheese and pasta. As far as I’m concerned, it was a success––it didn’t last long in the house. We saved a small portion to share with family, and almost a week later, it was still crispy and crunchy, so I would definitely suggest this as a candidate for weekly meals or leftovers if you’re planning ahead. We had to do some shopping around to find clean proscuitto, but Applegate makes one we love, and we’ve been able to find their products pretty regularly at the local organic market, and even sometimes larger chain supermarkets. The benefit of this is how simple to put together. This took us maybe 15 minutes to make in total.

Ingredients

1 English cucumber

1/2 red bell pepper

1-2 slices red onion (depending on how much you like onion)

1 cup kalamata olives

3 slices proscuitto

1 oz anchovy (tinned in olive oil)

Method

Chop red onion, cucumber, red bell pepper, and olives into small chunks. Slice proscuitto into thin 1/4″ strips, and finely mince anchovy.

Mix together thoroughly, and enjoy! The flavors will blend more as it sits, so preparation about an hour before mealtime is probably preferred. There’s no need for olive oil or salt or anything. This is an easy home run to impress family and friends.

Also, ~~please enter to win a copy of Diane Sanfilippo’s Practical Paleo if you haven’t already.~~ The giveaway ~~ends~~ ENDED September 28th, 2012!

Bulgogi Inspired Skirt Steak

September 19, 2012October 16, 2012by Brent SchraderLeave a comment

Bulgogi is one of my favorite Korean dishes. Once upon a time when I tutored English to international students at a large, public college, my Korean student insisted that I must try it. He was right. It took me months to try it (at a street fair, nonetheless) but I’m so glad I did. This recipe doesn’t look absolutely fabulous, but trust me, the taste is there. A wok would probably help the cooking process and the overall look, but alas, no wok yet.

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 tbsp coconut vinegar

5 tbsp coconut aminos

1 tbsp onion powder (we ground dried, chopped onion)

4 tbsp grated apple

1 tbsp pressed garlic

1/4 tsp ground ginger

2 pinches of ground black pepper

1 egg white

skirt steak

Method

Prepare the marinade of coconut vinegar, coconut aminos, onion powder, grated apple (we used our microplane), pressed garlic, ground ginger, black pepper and egg white. I once read about the benefits of using egg white and baking soda to tenderize meat, but I just skip the baking soda. Bonus points if you have a soda bottle in the house and separate your egg like this.

While that’s going on you’ll want to also slice your skirt steak into approximately 1/2″ strips. When you’ve completed both of these tasks, marinate the beef for approximately 30 minutes.

Once you’ve finished marinading the beef, preheat a skillet (or preferably wok if you have it) to medium-high heat with a tablespoon of olive oil/coconut oil/ghee. Cook beef until heated through and then it is ready to serve.