Restaurant Review: The Settles Hotel

   It is a Johnson family tradition to never celebrate a birthday or holiday on time. My mom is a pediatric nurse, my brother Nathan is an ER nurse, my oldest brother Zach is a homicide detective, and my dad oversees the blood bank. Basically everyone can be called to an emergency at the drop of a hat. So we all celebrated my birthday last night at an historic hotel in Big Spring, Texas called the Settles hotel. It is a swanky place that was originally built in the 1930's. We started with an appetizer of roasted meatballs in a marinara sauce that wasn't very appetizing. I love meatballs in a smoky sauce but I found these to be lacking. I am pretty sure I could have made a better product in my own kitchen.

  Along with the meatballs I ordered a minted lemonade which was Divine! This drink was so splendidly good I ordered two.

   Thankfully, dinner more than made up for the appetizer. Steven and I both ordered the New York strip steak with garlic mashed potatoes and bourbon onions. I added mac & cheese onto my meal because I can be a glutton at my birthday dinner. The meat was cooked just right and the potatoes were a succulent mash of loveliness. The mac & cheese was very decadent and creamy.  I ate everything on my plate. No shame in my game!

   Happy Birthday dinner to me!!! The food, and company was just what I wanted after a long week of working two jobs and busting my ass in school. Hope everyone has a great Sunday!

Waiting for the family at the entrance to the hotel. 

Me and my daddy before our food coma. 

Baked Mac & Cheese

Baked mac & cheese with Colby jack and mozzarella.

   Hey y'all, hope everyone is having a great and relaxing weekend! I am trying to relax and do a lot of nothing myself but I suck at sitting still. Last Friday morning I had my Synvisc-One injection done on my left knee. For the next 48 hours I can only walk to the bathroom or take a quick shower. It's actually doctors orders to do nothing but watch Netflix and read. The swelling has finally gone down but I am still very sore and grumpy. Synvisc-One is a wonderful gel that is shot into the knee joint to prevent swelling, and pain from arthritis. I began getting these injections after my ACL transplant and they have been a God send. I can work out harder, run farther, take the stairs all the time, and be a normal active adult. People who have had multiple knee surgeries should think about talking to their doctor about this gel to see if it is right for them. Since getting the injections I am not having to eat anti-inflammatory meds like candy anymore. Once in a great while I will take 2 Aleve for slight pain.

   Let's talk about that gorgeous container of mac & cheese. Tomorrow my church @St. Barnabus is having a Blessing of the Backpacks for all the kids going back to school on Monday. I am bringing my laptop, research materials, and books to be blessed. I think having the kids see that school can be fun and exciting when you get older will help their morale. Knowing that life gets better helped me in junior high and especially high school. College has been a wonderful experience and I am forever grateful that I was able to go. After church services we are having a pot luck and I am bringing baked mac & cheese along with chopped cantaloupe.

   Since I cannot move around much I enlisted the help of my mama to make this yummy dish. I got a cooking lesson while sitting in a chair inside the kitchen. I did get to grate the Colby Jack and Mozzarella so I kinda helped out. Mama taught me how to make a white rue sauce which is known as one of the great mother sauces. When you begin to learn how to cook, this sauce is a must have. It is versatile, velvety, and easy to make. I will write out the full recipe in the next blog post.

   What books or movies do y'all like to distract yourself with when you have to lie around the house?