The Weekly Wrap: September 21, 2025

Lately, I've taken to making myself a big salad for lunch on Fridays.

It's sliced romaine lettuce and chopped up leftover veggies from our fridge. Usually that means carrots, bell peppers, and cucumber. Sometimes we have tomatoes floating around. I'll also toss in a sprinkling of thick-cut shredded cheddar cheese. The dressing is always ranch.

But, my favorite part, is the protein. I yoink six of my kiddo's dino nuggets from the Costco bag in our freezer and cook them in our toaster oven on the air fryer setting. Once crispy, they get a quick chop before I throw them on top of everything.

There is nothing special about this meal, but I look forward to it every week.

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• We need awe. [The Atlantic - gift link]
• AI being dangerous for teens was entirely predictable. [The Atlantic - gift link]
• An entry for "we want plates." [TASTE]

• You need more sleep. Yes, you. [LifeKit]
• Our relationship with gen AI can be dangerous. [The Daily]
• A magical Scottish isle. [Atlas Obscura]
• The work of NIL. [Booming]
• The cost of school supplies. [The Indicator]

• The Thursday Murder Club is cast with a who's who of British actors. Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, David Tennant, and more. Their skills bring what would otherwise be a middling script to life. This movie is good if you want cozy mystery vibes. It does cover some tougher topics, but the overall production is delightful. [Netflix]
• We started season three of Leverage: Redemption. The writing and plot continue to be rife with easter eggs for nerds and moments in the cultural zeitgeist. Admittedly, the actors are visibly older so the capery antics are getting harder to believe, but the zeal of the performances keeps everything afloat. [Amazon Prime]

• I've made pineapple chicken stir fry twice now. Each time, I've had to hold myself back from eating all the chicken before the rest of the dish is done. The velveting process just makes it taste so good. Also, I've learned to let it sizzle and brown before I stir it. The Maillard reaction is clutch here. The rest of the ingredients make from a nice bowl meal when served over rice. We top ours with sriracha. [The Kitchn]
• I wanted to love this baked feta, tomato, and white bean skillet but something was missing. It might be that our feta was not brined. (A brined version was not available at our store.) The final dish wasn't bad, it was just missing that something extra to bring it to life. We served this with  slices of baguette. [Eating Well]
• For my weekly lunch prep, I made Italian orzo salad. This was mostly an open and dump recipe, which I love to prep. This needed feta though. That salty pop on top would have brought everything together. Or, now that I think of it, jarred banana peppers might be even better. [Budget Bytes]