Month: January 2024

The Best Mac n’ Cheese Recipe

Posted on By Katarina Watson

This Mac n’ Cheese Recipe will not only keep your guests going back for seconds; but will also earn you a solid reputation of being the one to bring the cheesy dish to all the family gatherings.

The Secret to the Creaminess

I grew up in the south, and a lot of the time, they make a mac n’ cheese with crackers on top and no roux-even though I enjoy this kind too, the ultimate secret to having a creamy, gooey, and crispy mac is: the roux.

Making a roux is both simple and complex, the key is to never stop stirring and keep the heat on low! I remember the first time I made one, I burned it and was exceptionally disappointed in my gumbo and could feel my late cajun grandfather rolling over in his grave seeing what I created haha!

Essentially, a roux is a mix of flour, butter, and milk until you create the depth that you want. In this case, it is the base for the creamy, thick sauce we are going to create.

To make it, melt 3 TBSP of butter, mix in half of the seasoning mixture (down below), and 3 TBSP of flour. Keep whisking until its a smooth, but slightly clumpy consistency and then add your milk while continuously stirring– you got this, and if you don’t, have extra ingredients ready just in case!

“Thou shalt not use pre-shredded cheese in this house!”

-The Mac n’ cheese Commandments

Just don’t do it, ever. Especially when you are melting down cheese or making cheese sauces. Pre-shredded bagged cheese is covered in powdered cellulose or potato starch, which is great to keep the cheese from clumping in the bag; but is no fun for when it comes to melting down.

So, invest in a cheese grater, or hit up your local Olive Garden and become a thief, I don’t judge.

What’s Needed

  • 1lb pasta (I use the cellentani)
  • 1lb Colby jack
  • 1lb mozzarella
  • 8oz cheddar cheese
  • 1 can condensed milk ( 12oz)
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 tbsp Dijon
  • 3 tbsp flour
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Chili powder
  • Garlic powder
  • Chicken bouillon
  • A large pot
  • A Large baking dish
  • A bowl for the cheese
  • Cheese Grater & a lot of enthusiam

The Recipe

To start, you can use traditional macaroni pasta, I prefer the cellentani (or Cavatappi) because the Sauce gets all up in the groves and makes for a perfect bite.

Alright let’s get into it!

  • Shred all of your cheese and set aside, if it makes it easier for you, split the mixture in half in two bowls, you will use half for the sauce, half for the baking.
  • Boil pasta noodles in chicken bouillon, don’t even think twice about it, everyone should have this in their house–if you don’t get right with it.
  • Once noodles are done set aside and start on your roux.
    • Melt 3 tbsp of butter and mix in half of your seasoning mixture of salt, pepper, chili powder & garlic powder—once smooth add flour and make a roux.
    • From there, add your can of evaporated milk, mix together til no clumps, let it thicken a bit before adding the 2 cups of heavy cream. Add remaining seasoning, 1 tbsp of Dijon mustard (It’s important) and keep stirring, letting it thicken.
  • Once it’s to a good thickness, gradually add in HALF the cheese.
  • Once sauce is made, add in noodles and stir.
  • Layer half the noodles in a pan, put 1/4 of the remaining cheese and then layer noodles again.
  • Top with remaining cheese & bake.
    • I bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and then broil for about 5 minutes.

Broiling is what really completes it for me, that crispy top…. oh, man, that is the dream.

If you give this recipe a try, let me know!

Ranking Disneyland & California Adventure Food

Posted on By Katarina Watson

I had my Baby-moon at Disney and tried a bunch of the staple and borderline underrated food & am here to rave about it.

Me, 8 months pregnant

Baby-moon

Baby daddy and I had an AMAZING time

Let me start off by saying, if you are thinking about going to Disney for your Baby-moon–do it, it’s totally worth it. There are a list of family friendly, pregnancy safe rides and events at Disney; but in complete honesty, we went for the food. Not only did I walk 7 miles that day while about 8 months pregnant, but I experienced a side to Disney I had not unlocked yet: the food.

Let’s be real, y’all always go to Disney with snacks and bags packed ready for the adventure, you aren’t going to spend money on the food; but let me convince you to splurge and experience some of the items. We weren’t able to try all of the staples, but we did try some big hits, some underrated hits, and some totalllllly overrated hits and I am here to rank them all.

If you haven’t already, you can watch my tiktok for a brief ranking and a fun time.

Let’s get into it. I would like to preface that not every item on this list was given camera time before given taste bud time, so, I apologize in advance.

The Hand-dipped Corndogs

Rating: 10/10
What it comes with: Corndog & a mandarin or a bag of chips (they gave me both and it was epic)

This corndog deserves absolutely any and all hype around it. I have never had a corn dog this good. Not only did we get one when we first got into the park; but this was my finale before leaving the park for the night. An absolute dream, they dip it in front of you, the service is fast, the mandarins were good every time and the price isn’t too bad considering it being the heart of Disney.

This item has been ranked as a must have item anytime I find myself in the park.

Can be found in front of the Plaza Inn.

The Frozen Apple Juice

Rating: 10/10

This is arguably one of the most underrated Disney food items. I had not even heard of it until I made this trip. It was super refreshing, perfect consistency, and just absolutely delicious. I like lemonade as much as the next girl; but if I had to choose, I would get a frozen apple juice over a frozen lemonade for the rest of my life. They really popped off with this one.

This item has also been deemed as a must have for me, if I go to Disney on a warm day.

I found this item at a tiny stall near the dumbo ride.

Tropical Hideaway Staples

Lumpia

Rating: 8/10

I would like to start off by saying, believe it or not, I am Wasian, and I hold on to my asian card for dear life–with that being said, I feel like I am a good judge of knowing when something is or isn’t what it claims to be. To summarize: this was NOT lumpia, this was an egg roll. It was really good nonetheless, had a crispy outside and a good mix of veggies on the inside. Must be enjoyed with the sweet chili sauce.

Dole Whip

Rating: 7/10

We got the pineapple flavor, I totally get why people hype it up; but it was REALLY sweet! I think next time I will try the strawberry and try to give a better assessment. I think its refreshing, but a bit overhyped in my opinion, because it was so sweet we didn’t finish it.

Tropical Hideaway Staples (continued)

Pork Bao

Rating: 8/10

This was a good Bao, it had the fluffiness but to me, there was a sweetness to the pork that threw it off. In my personal experience with pork bao it is a sweet/savory pork–but this one was rather sweet that it distracted from the savoriness of the pork. I would still get it again, not necessarily a must have for me; but it was really good.

I dipped a bite in the sweet chili sauce from the lumpia and it was good too, sweet, but the spicy flavor helped to balance it out a bit.

QuesaBirria

Rating: 9/10

This was one of the best items I ate that day. I think this one was really hyped up and deserves to be. Absolutely NOT OVERRATED. I did like the salsa verde more than the cosomé though. Either way, absolutely would get again and would rank as a must have.

The only thing that would draw this as less of a must have is the price to food to line time. We were in line for a long time, and they were overpriced considering its only the two tacos; but the food itself was REALLY good that it deserves to be seen as a must try at some point.

Can be found in San Fransokyo Square

Mac n’ Cheese

Rating: 9/10

The bread cone it came in wasn’t very good in my opinion, Joe liked it, but I wasn’t much of a fan. The Mac itself was really good, very creamy, noodles cooked perfectly, bacon was a nice touch, would get again.

I wouldn’t classify this as a must have only because it wasn’t one of those items that I feel like you are severely missing out on– its a good mac n’ cheese, but you can get good mac n’ cheese anytime.

Can be found at the cozy cones.

Jack Jack Cookie

Rating: 6/10

This was by far the most overrated thing ever. We had heard a lot about this cookie, it gets a ton of hype so we were pretty excited to try it. It was a disappointment. It did have a good amount of chocolate and the line moved quickly to get it; but not worth it. Will 100% never get again.

Can be found at the cart in front of the Incredicoaster.

DisneyLand Pretzels

These Pretzels can be found throughout the park, I would like to give an honorable mention to the cream cheese pretzel that did not get to meet the camera.

Classic Mickey

Rating: 8/10

I have had better pretzels, for example the Padre Pretzel in Petco park still remains #1 in my book for being the best pretzel I have ever had; but this is still a classic and SO good with mustard

Cream cheese Pretzel

Rating: 9/10

I was fully expecting this to be weird, I had heard about them through TikTok and thought they would be worth a shot because of how many people I had seen enjoy them, it did not disappoint. Absolutely amazing, was gone in a matter of seconds, would put on my list of must haves moving forward.

Disney Churro

Rating: 8/10

This was a great way to end the night, I almost left without getting one and everyone says you HAVE TO get one when you go to Disney, so I grabbed one at the stand right in front of the Disney gates in DT Disney.

For starters, it was huge, it was fluffy, and it was the perfect amount of sweetness.

I would say it’s a typical staple, but of the foods I enjoyed today, I don’t know if I would say it’s a must have for me moving forward. I would absolutely get it again; but I would prioritize other things before it!

To summarize, you should ABSOLUTELY experience the food at Disney and set aside a little budget for it. As someone who would consider themselves a foodie, I think that this trip was possibly more fun than any other time I had gone. I mean come on, good company, good food, nice weather–what more could you ask for?

My absolute must haves are: The Corndog, Frozen Apple Juice, QuesaBirria, and Cream Cheese Pretzel. If I had to recommend anything, it would be those.

Until next time ,Disney, looking forward to grubbing out with my daughter next time ;).

Doula Diaries: The Best Books to Learn More About Pregnancy and the Woman Hormone Cycle

Posted on By Katarina Watson

My favorite books, one arguably more important than the others.

A Kaleidoscope of Knowledge

Kat's Corner

When I first set out to make big changes in my life and to learn more about the reproductive system, I was intimidated. Like with anything, learning and trying new things can be scary; but if you really want it, you will find the way that works best for you to learn more. I was googling, youtubing, tiktoking– are these even words?– until I finally decided to go back to the root of knowledge before all these resources: BOOKS!

I was on birth control for seven years– SEVEN! I have tried multiple different types, experienced ridiculous symptoms, and finally decided to make a change and start learning how to regulate my body more naturally.

My favorite book, that changed my life and arguably deserves credit for the swiftness and planning of my healthy pregnancy, was the WomanCode by Alisa Vitti.

The Woman Code is a bit of a step-by-step guide for how to gradually make changes instead of a large exaggerated change. The best features of this book is the ability to read over time, it expands on the four parts of the hormonal cycle, the best foods to eat, the relationship that we create with our bodies and best of all how to listen to your body.

This is the book that I recommend to every single woman in my life, especially anyone who is transitioning into a hormone balancing lifestyle after being on birth control for years. This author also has her own website, program, and interactive blog for those who want to learn more or to expand further.

Not only is it easy to understand, but it gives way for the flexibility and understanding that not all bodies are created the same and what works for some–does not always work for others.

More on my journey with this book on my blog.

The next book that I loved, not only during pregnancy, but I read pre-pregnancy was The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth by Genevieve Howland.

Mama Natural is amazing! One of the things I love most is the fact that this book is written with medical professionals and doulas! On top of that, she has her own blog with a ton of resources for new moms and doulas alike.

The week-by-week aspect of this book also takes away the intimidating nature of learning more about a new topic or the news of becoming a parent.

This book covers everything from symptoms, interventions, breathing techniques, and recipes. I started reading this book when my partner and I began our conversations of starting a family, and restarted it when we got pregnant. I feel like having this book gave me a head start to know what to expect and what to plan for.

As someone who both appreciates modern medicine AND natural remedies this book is perfect because they not only expand on the science of everything, the medical reasons and devices, but also natural outputs and reasons why you may decide one option over the other.
A book like this is great for those ‘scrunchy’ people who aren’t afraid of a water birth, but also are totally down for an epidural. It’s a great read and even better for learning more about the different ways people experience pregnancy.

The next book I enjoyed, and used as a supplemental tool was Why Did No One Tell Me This?: The Doulas’ (Honest) Guide for Expectant Parents by Natalia Hales and Ash Spivak.

This is one of those books that, in my opinion, held a pleathora of knowledge, maybe too much for me when I first started.

This ended up becoming a supplemental book for me, where I would tap in to expand my knowledge on certain topics, like breastfeeding or dilation.

I appreciated the inclusivity of this book, where not only they expanded on being a mother, but being a parent. There was a lot in this book about preparing to be a birthing partner as well, which in my eyes, is invaluable.

Not only is written by doulas, but it also is written in a way that makes sense, which when it comes to science should be standard practice! They wrote this book in a way to make an already adjusting time feel more comforting, but also in a way that you can learn and expand your knowledge if you are interested in becoming a Doula yourself

Although there are bookoo books out there, and I am still getting started and flipping through some, these three were my starting points, the first one being the root of my interested in Women’s Reproductive Health, Endocrinology, and becoming a doula.

Kat's Corner

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Welcome: How to Start a Blog in 2024

Posted on By Katarina Watson

Why, How, and What I Did to Start my Website

I have been wanting to create a blog for the longest time, and finally I have! I have so many posts ready, so much knowledge to share & so many cool experiences.

A few things I intend to write about are recipes, my pregnancy experience, cool places I have been/tried, my journey to expanding into the world of doula, amazon must haves, art, stories, etc! I am so excited to have an outlet for myself to expand on all my hobbies and interests.

Starting a blog was kind of crazy, and I am still wrapping my brain around how I did it– the best way for me to understand is by teaching so this was the step-by-step for how how I started my blog.

Why?

I have always loved to write and talk–I mean seriously, you can’t spell talkative without kat. Writing has always been a big outlet of mine for as I can remember, on top of that, learning. I love learning new things, I love teaching, and I love talking. I feel like that pretty much sums it up, haha!

I wanted to start a blog to have a creative space to write my thoughts, feelings, and knowledge on topics and experiences as I experience them. As of right now, I have no intention of sharing this other than with myself, but I can’t wait to expand on that.

How?

So how did I get this party started? Prepping, research, and tons of ‘stupid questions’. I know they say there is no such thing as a stupid question, but do you ever learn about something and then look back and think… oh, that was way harder than I made it out to be? Well, thats basically what happened here.

I would see my friends and family starting blogs and just be exceptionally intimidated by the concept of creating a website, hosts and domains, which company to choose, what title I should use, etc. So I did what most people do when they genuinely don’t understand something– I asked my dad ha! This was my first problem, I asked such an open question without having enough knowledge under my belt that when he started explaining it to me… I just felt lost and was not at all ready to understand. (Kind of like math–if you know you’re bad at it, you’re always gonna think you’re bad at it and give up before you even try.)

So troubleshooting from there, I started googling everything under the sun, I started reading articles, and watching youtube videos, and finding whatever resources I could to even begin to understand the concept of what it took to create your own website. After all, what good was all the planning and prepping and ideas I had, if I didn’t even understand how to begin to get them all down?

So there I was, starting fresh watching video after video and here is what I learned:

  • There are a billion ways and companies out there to create your own website, many of which will do most of the work for you, but with a heavier price tag
  • It is often times better to go through buying your own host/domain and creating your own website that way then paying to host and use a domain through wordpress for example
  • This article was written in a way that helped me understand the difference between a host and a domain, and why they matter.
    • A host is basically where all your website’s data is stored, but a domain is your website name. For example: apple.com or google.com
  • Youtube really is a learning app, because I probably watched like 8 videos and finally started to understand. Here are the two videos that I felt helped me understand best: How to create a wordpress blog & Ionos WordPress tutorial.

What did I do?

So after getting the understanding of what a host versus a domain was, the different sites that are out there, and watched a substantial amount of videos I was at the point where the stuff my dad was telling me, started to actually make sense.

He told me about a website called Ionos, where I can use them as my host and purchase a domain there AND build with their tools–basically giving me free range to a ton of resources. It took me a while to understand that although WordPress can be a host and a domain, they are also just another tool. Basically, you can get your own host and domain and still use WordPress as a tool and use their templates–and that’s just what I did.

Step-by-step this was how I got the ball rolling:

  1. I started by making a list of all the ideas I had for my own website, this can be pretty simple, I just used the notes app in my iPhone. I wrote down every idea that I wanted to make possible and even started writing some out or putting cliff notes on each.
  2. Next, I did what any young person does nowadays, I tiktok, youtubed the hell out of ‘How to start a blog in 2023’–which was intimidating, but helped me to realize that thousands of people do it everyday, how hard can it be?
  3. I started to get real in depth research, from the beginning, because in order to understand how to run and write a blog, you have to understand the concept of creating a website, so I took off with that research and the links I provided above were the best resources for me.
  4. I decided who I wanted to host with, I chose Ionos, and then the real fun began: You get to pick a domain, I tried SO many different names until I stopped on the one you are surfing on today.
    • Typically, this name should be something guided toward your Niche, such as: if you are a baker, try your name x bakes or a fun adjective x bakes
  5. From there, Ionos has a variety of packages and tools accessible to you when you choose your plan–I wanted to use WordPress so I opted for that platform.
  6. AND THEN BOOM! You started a blog! It really was THAT simple! The hardest part is understanding and researching what company works best for you–once you sort that out the rest is cake!

So get to it! It is both as intimidating and easy as it sounds.

Kat's Corner

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