keto – Page 4 – that paleo couple

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.

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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.

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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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Ham and Egg Bake

December 20, 2017December 20, 2017by Heather SchraderLeave a comment

“Egg bake” (as my family calls it) is a traditional Christmas morning breakfast in my family. My parents layered buttered white bread, sliced cheese, and diced ham in a large baking dish. Then, they poured whisked eggs over the layers, refrigerated the whole thing for a few hours, and finally popped it in the oven just before we went to midnight mass. I can remember coming home from church, exhausted but exhilarated that it was Christmas Day, and the savory smell of the egg bake engulfed me. We’d have breakfast and be allowed to open one of our presents before going to bed.

With Christmas just around the corner, I’ve been craving egg bake. But given our preference to avoid gluten and Otto’s and my need for me to avoid dairy, I knew the dish I grew up with wouldn’t be feasible. I considered replacing the buttered white bread with ghee and gluten-free bread. I also considered replacing the sliced cheese with something as well. Ultimately, however, I decided it might be better to simplify the recipe rather than complicate it. Somehow, this incredibly easy egg bake came out so similar in taste to “egg bake” from my childhood, I almost couldn’t believe it. For so few ingredients, it packs a lot of flavor!

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Bacon and Cauliflower Creamed Spinach

November 15, 2017November 15, 2017by Heather Schrader3 Comments

The past five months have flown by with a newborn, and it has hit us that next week we will be flying out to Wisconsin to celebrate Thanksgiving with family. Turkey Day is the first of many opportunities to over-indulge (in food and drink) with friends and family on a regular basis through the end of the year. There’s nothing wrong with making a conscious choice to treat yourself. However, we’ve learned that going off the rails has its consequences and is less and less appealing each holiday season.

As a result, we are always trying to create more options for our holiday tables, and this time we think we’ve really struck gold. This creamed cauliflower, spinach, and bacon medley has the heartiness of mashed potatoes, plenty of spinach, and bacon for days. It’s a great option for anyone looking to stay low-carb during the holiday feast, but it won’t leave anyone else feeling deprived. We hope it makes its way to your table as well, no matter the season.

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