beef – Page 2 – that paleo couple

Easy Instant Pot Beef Stew

March 7, 2018March 6, 2018by Heather SchraderLeave a comment

I hesitate to call anything Otto’s favorite. He’s only 9 months old and unable to speak for himself, after all. But, he loves this stew. I mean, he devours it. The first time I made it for him about a month ago, I puréed it really well because he was still getting the hang of swallowing solids, and he gobbled it without hesitation. Tonight, I didn’t blend it quite as much. He was just as enthusiastic.

Otto literally leans forward in his high-chair, mouth open, eagerly waiting for the next spoonful. Sometimes he grabs at the spoon and pulls it towards his face. I also let him have a few carrots from my bowl, not blended, to pick up with his fingers tonight. He happily ate them, but also continued to lean forward for more of the purée.

To be clear, Otto does not do this with other foods. So, I think it’s safe to say, this super easy dish is his favorite. Brent and I really like it, too. Like many Instant Pot recipes, all you have to do is put the ingredients in and let the gadget work its magic! We hope you and your family, however young or old, will appreciate its simplicity and delicious flavor as well.

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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…

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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.

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Instant Pot Spicy Beef Soup

November 1, 2017October 31, 2017by Brent Schrader4 Comments

Now that we’re experiencing colder weather, it seems that people are getting sick left and right. We weren’t immune to whichever bug was floating around last week. Otto and I caught our first colds of the season (and his first ever). We dutifully suctioned his passageways and tried to make him as comfortable as possible, while I found solace in menthol, tea, and plenty of rest.

To help clear the congestion, I wanted to make an easy, spicy soup that would help open me up. This soup did the trick. Plus, it’s a one-pot meal and was done within an hour. We know you’ll enjoy this soup in cold weather and hope you don’t need to break it out to fight a cold.

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Breakfast Taco Bowl

October 4, 2017October 3, 2017by Brent Schrader1 Comment

In college, pizza was a perfect breakfast food. I never tried breakfast tacos, but breakfast burritos were amazing when we had them at home. This week is my first attempt at taking care of Otto without the help of Heather (she’s away at a work conference), so we planned a recipe that would take some of the meal planning off my plate for the week.

This is kind of a deconstructed breakfast burrito, and the plantain chips gives it the crunch of a taco. If you include dairy in your diet, feel free to also serve this with high-quality cheese and/or sour cream. Sliced jalapeños are great, too!

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