recipe review: cajun bayou stew

i had some birthday rewards from the folks at savory spice shop that i needed to use, so i decided to add their cajun bayou stew mix to my order.

i had a pack of andouille sausage in the freezer already, so it was just a matter of buying the vegetables and lemon called for on the package to be ready for meal prep. since the sausage was raw, i browned the links for a few minutes in a separate skillet and then sliced them to add to the stew.

the directions called for the stew to simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the lentils were softened and most of the liquid had been absorbed. i checked after 25 minutes and there was still plenty of liquid left, so i added another 10 minutes of cooking time. the stew was still a bit on the soupy side after that, but i figured things would set up a bit as the stew cooled.

i had a serving for lunch today and thought it was pretty good, even though the consistency still isn't exactly what i had in mind. i put a serving in the freezer and will probably add another serving or two to the freezer depending on how the week plays out, so it'll be interesting to see how this plays out later when i thaw it out.

recipe review: lemon chicken thighs

i tend to stock up on chicken when it's on sale, which comes in handy when i decide to try out a recipe. this time it was for lemon chicken thighs.

i need to make this again because there were a couple of things that i'd like to tweak or fix. the skin didn't really get as crispy as i would've like, so i want to adjust the cooking time and maybe use a different burner on the stove to see if that makes a difference. i didn't have any aleppo-style pepper, so i figured i'd mix some cayenne pepper and chili powder together. i misread the measurements, though, and wound up using a 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne and a full teaspoon of chili powder. i didn't realize this error until i started eating and found myself wondering why the chicken seemed spicier than i thought it would.

there's some leftover vinaigrette in the fridge that i may try to use for a marinade for some boneless pork chops i have in the freezer. or maybe i'll make some veggies and use the vinaigrette with that.

thoughts on the nfl 100 commercial

i wasn't expecting an ad for the nfl to be my favorite commercial from sunday, but here we are, although i did shriek with delight during the stella artois spot when the dude showed up.

 
some thoughts, in no particular order, now that i've watched the ad at least a half dozen times today:

• marshawn lynch is still bereft of fucks to give and i still love him for it. also i have totally looked at a cake the way he did. sorry not sorry. 
• mike singletary! 
• barry and his spin move will never not be awesome. 
• ed reed can and will intercept your face. i want the jacket he was wearing. 
• fuck tom brady always and forever, amen.

recipe reviews: oven baked chicken tenders & roast sausage and fennel with orange

i was all set to do some meal prep this past weekend, but then i came home thursday night to a note saying not to use my kitchen sink because the drain pipe was frozen. as of saturday night, i was told that progress had been made and that i could use the sink "sparingly." i already had plans for sunday, so i decided to make meal prep monday a thing, which worked out because i had the day off.

i'd bought a package of boneless skinless chicken breasts during a previous shopping trip, so i already had everything i needed to make these chicken tenders. i was only making one batch (see step 5), so i halved the amounts for the egg wash, flour mixture, and panko. i didn't make the sauce because i already had honey mustard in the fridge. i thought these came out ok, but would consider adding more paprika (i used a little more than 1/2 teaspoon) and/or some other seasonings.

since i loved them so much the 1st time i made them, and since green beans were on sale, i made a double batch of these soft green beans. i may need to start buying those bags of pre-trimmed green beans as a time saver if this keeps up.

i also decided to try this recipe for roast sausage and fennel with orange. i had a pack of italian sausages in the freezer, so all i needed to buy were the fennel, onion, and orange. i used dried rosemary because i wasn't going to buy a package of fresh rosemary only to use 3 sprigs. the fennel bulbs i bought had very little fronds, which was fine with me because i'm not a big fan of fennel fronds anyway. the recipe calls for cutting the orange into supremes, which was more effort than i was willing to expend. i juiced the orange into a bowl and followed the rest of the directions for adding the vinegar. i don't know if i'd be in a rush to make this again, but i do like the idea of roasting the sausage with fennel and onion, and possibly adding some sort of garlic to the equation.