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. 

It's My Birthday!

   Today is my birthday and I have to say that this year I actually enjoyed myself. I worked my ass off in physical therapy this morning with extra weight and extra reps. I call the extra reps birthday reps. My mama and I spent a lazy afternoon talking and drinking tea. I lounged around with my dogs and read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn which is a great book. If you like thrillers that keep you guessing then you should read this book. My father in law took Steven and I out for dinner at an Italian place called Mia Piacci which I was not expecting. I seriously thought that I would be eating ice cream and watching Netflix. Instead I ate lasagna, good bread, and chocolate mouse cake and enjoyed every damn bite. Then I came home and fell into a lovely carb coma. Birthdays kick ass!

   My "person" +Lindsay Fedele sent me a very rad birthday card with a unicorn inside. I love unicorns and I love this chick. From our first wife date I felt so comfortable with her and found her truly beguiling. Thanks for the card and the sweet words inside the card!

   I appreciate all the birthday love y'all! Xoxoxoxoxo

  Excuse me while I eat more ice cream because it's my damn birthday!

My Fitness Pal

   I have to rave about this app that is on my phone and computer. My Fitness Pal is a wonderful and fun app to use whatever your fitness goals are. I heard about this app from YouTube sensation +JennaMarbles on her highly popular vlog channel. This app helps you track your food and exercise while helping you to reach your goals. For example, yesterday I didn't eat as much as I usually do and did not reach my caloric goal for the day. After inputting all my information the app told me this:

Based on your total calories consumed today, you are likely not eating enough

For safe weight loss, the National Institutes of Health recommends no less than 1000-1200 calories for women and 1200-1500 calories for men.

Even during weight loss, it's important to meet your body's basic nutrient and energy needs. Over time, not eating enough can lead to nutrient deficiencies, unpleasant side effects & other serious health problems.

To safely meet your goals:
• Focus on consuming nutrient-rich foods and beverages
• Check your progress in MyFitnessPal throughout the day
• Add nutritious snacks between meals as needed

   Isn't that too cool?! My Fitness Pal actually cares about me. Go check out the app and let me know what y'all think. 

Reading Lables

     I love Pinterest y'all! Pinterest much like coffee understands me. After scrolling around the food section of Pinterest I came across a simple dish that I thought my hubby would like. Hamburger Hash is basically ground beef, onion, potatoes, and shredded cheese. This is the kind of recipe I love to make because while everything simmers I can read research articles for class. A match made in heaven.
    This recipe is brought to you by the blog, Recipes We Love and Ann Kelly. I tried to be sneaky and get pre-cut frozen potatoes but when I read the label I immediately switched tactics. I had assumed that the cold bag in my hands would contain just potatoes and maybe some salt. Damn I could not have been more wrong. Dextrose, Disodium Pyrophosphate, (added to maintain color), Potassium Sorbate, and Sodium Bisulfite were all ingredients in my frozen potatoes. (Simply Potatoes 2014) What is laughable is that the sugar content was listed as 0 grams but dextrose was added to the frozen potatoes. Dextrose is a form of glucose derived from starches. It is one of the most commonly used ingredients in packaged foods because of its affordability and wide availability. Baking products and desserts often contain dextrose, but it may be used as an added sugar in any processed food that is sweetened by the manufacturer. Because the name varies depending on its original starch source, you may not realize a particular food contains dextrose. (livestrong.com)

   I marched my cute butt across the store and bought regular whole potatoes instead. I would rather cut my potatoes by hand than have all the aforementioned crap in my body. Moral of this rant is to simply read the label.

  As you can see I chopped 1 whole onion, I then shredded about 2 cups of colby jack cheese, and diced 1 whole potato. I also had pepper, salt, and garlic on hand to season the meat.

   I sauteed the chopped onion and 1 pound of grass fed beef in about 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. The recipe called for vegetable oil which I never use. After the meat was done cooking I drained off all excess fat and set aside. I added another 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil to my pan and then threw in the potatoes. I love a lot of seasoning so the taters got a generous helping of pepper, garlic, and Morton's Nature's Seasonings. Since my taters were raw they required about 20 minutes of cook time. When they were done to my liking I threw the meat back in the pan and then added the cheese to melt on top.

    A great thing about casseroles is they usually tend to keep well in the fridge and heat up nicely. As a busy grad student having yummy meals on hand that only require reheating is a must. What are some favorite recipes y'all like to whip up? 

My Last Semester is Here!

 
   How did August get here so fast?! Seriously, it was June two weeks ago. I am graduating this December with my M.A. in Criminal Justice Administration. Finally! I am actually looking forward to getting a big girl job and putting my degree to good use.

   The only way I will survive my last semester is to run a tight ship and keep my calendar glued to my hand. Working two jobs, dealing with homework, and sorting out mundane domestic chores can be a bit much. But I have a secret. I am always at least one week if not two weeks ahead with my homework. I am that loser who stays home on the weekends completing papers and research. During my school career I have found that being ahead helps when life happens. Life loves to give you the plague, car trouble, insomnia, scheduling mishaps with loved ones, or work emergencies. Yep, life happens and the only way to deal is to be prepared and expect anything. I also like to have easy meals on hand to help my schedule flow more smoothly. Weekends are usually all about meal prep or throwing things in the crock pot. Cutting veggies and fruit then stuffing them into zip lock bags has saved my cute butt more than once.

   Hope everyone has a great week back at school! May the semester be ever in your favor!

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?

"ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN" -ELLIE GOULDING

  Jamming out while recovering from Synvisc One injection.