Author: keep up with k.tap

mac & cheese

whether you are a person that cooks daily (like me) or a person that cooks once a week, i have found that pretty much every person has a go to dish that they love and are even confident enough to serve it to guests.  for me, that dish is a baked macaroni and cheese.

growing up in a household with parents and grandparents who cooked regularly, specifically, a grandmother with midwestern/southern roots, we were all about soul food.  when i was in fifth grade, i went to a friend’s house after school and mentioned i was hungry, she told me she could make us some mac and cheese “real quick”.  i was shook.  i had never seen mac and cheese take less than one hour start to finish.  this was the day i discovered that easy mac existed.  now, as a tipsy college student, easy mac definitely did the trick.  pushing 30, i now want something more substantial and would like to cook with ingredients that are actually easy to identify.  so over the years, i have tweaked the mac and cheese recipe my grammy and mom served to us as kids.

for me, meat is not a necessity to make something a meal.  i am happy having mac and cheese by itself or paired with a salad + some cornbread with honey butter. now, if i am cooking for guests, i normally pair this with both fried chicken and a baked bbq sriracha glazed chicken, something green (i lean towards steamed broccoli with garlic and lemon or a caesar salad with bacon and avocado) and the aforementioned cornbread.

while this is called mac and cheese, i actually use medium sized shells because i noticed they cup all of the cheesy goodness in a way the small elbow macaroni i grew up on could not.

*warning – i do not measure when i season – it is more of a feeling but i am happy to do this via instagram live if that is something you all are interested in at a later date

now, onto the ingredients/necessary cookware:

one box of medium sized shells (do not buy whole wheat – the brand does not matter)
one stick of butter (plus an extra sliver)
one can of campbell’s cream of mushroom (be sure it is not low sodium or low fat)
2% milk
2 cups of grated pepper jack cheese
3-4 cups of colby jack cheese
garlic salt, black pepper and seasoning salt
a rectangular pan that is well coated with pam or your cooking spray of choice
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the recipe is fairly simple:

when you put the water on to boil your pasta, turn the oven on to 350
pour pasta in to pot once boiling with a sliver of butter and a couple dashes of garlic salt
cook until finished (more on the firm side since it will be smothered with ingredients and baked)
take coated pan and pour drained pasta into pan
add can of cream of mushroom (save can)
slice stick of butter and evenly distribute within the pan
pour milk into can until full
add to pan
add pepper jack cheese to pan
stir until mixed
season with garlic salt, seasoning salt and black pepper
stir again
add light layer of black pepper
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cover entire top with the colby jack
bake for 35-45 minutes depending on the oven (for my oven, i do 38 minutes)
let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving
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one of my favorite things about this dish (aside from how delicious it is) is that it does not turn my kitchen into a disaster, it reheats so well (especially because there are no breadcrumbs) and takes about one hour from start to finish.  there is something about mac and cheese that is good for the soul.
if you decide to make it, let me know how it goes!
xoxo,
k. tap

popped that cherry

hey there! for those of you who i do not know personally, allow me to introduce myself.  my name is kristin tappan but those closest to me call me one of a trillion nicknames they have created for me – the one that has always stuck is k.tap.

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i am a 28 year old, sarcastic, well educated, los angeles based, plus-sized black woman who was finding that there were not too many blogs out there that not only represent women like me but offer a unique perspective on the topics i care most about.  that brings me to two important questions you would likely want the answers to:

why am i starting a blog now?

i met with my friend (since elementary school) hayley back in 2015 to discuss starting a blog.  she had an awesome blog (i would now classify it as extraordinary – you can find her blog here) and i wanted to know not only how she had grown such a following (that was truly authentic) but what kind of time and energy she was putting in behind the scenes.  hayley was incredibly candid and let me know that it was like having another job if it is something i was going to be serious about.  i do not halfway commit to anything.  at the time, i was in the middle of a graduate program to get my masters in counseling psychology and working multiple jobs (to both pay the bills and be able to afford the amount of concert tickets i like to buy).  i knew i could not produce a shit product just for the sake of having a blog.  as i often tell my clients, patience is a virtue.  i also talk to them about only getting out of something what you put into it.  i knew i needed to wait not only until i wrapped up my program, but until i was settled back in la (did both undergrad and grad school in the bay area).  now that i have been back for a little over a year,  am settled in an apartment that will likely be my home until i am ready to buy and am putting those degrees to good use working as a counselor, i figured i would go ahead and pop that cherry.

what can you expect to read about?

as of now, you can expect to read about seven topics:

beauty – everything from my 10 minute makeup routine to managing relaxed hair (i love the creamy crack – sue me!) to my favorite products

fresh + fitted – best places to shop that are size inclusive, my favorite athletic attire brands and how to buy pieces that are multifunctional

good reads – my favorite book at the moment along with the message to carry with me

head + heart – anything that is going on in my head and/or heart from thoughts of the week that resonated with me to appropriate boundary setting to love languages; you name it, i will cover it

home decor – where to find the best throw pillows and accent pieces for your space, how to create an inviting atmosphere, best places for a fresh bouquet (a necessity, in my opinion), etc.

travel bug – from concerts to weddings to weekend getaways, this will capture what i did, what i would recommend and how i believe traveling is truly the key to work/life balance

yummy – from my favorite recipes to my favorite restaurants, anything delicious (and not always nutritious), you can find here!

i may add more topics (if i feel this is not quite enough or if i get requests to write about something that does not fall under one of these umbrella topics) – we will just have to see how this journey goes.

special shout out to both hayley and gracelyn for being inspiring, encouraging, patient and motivational during this process.  and to my readers, thank you in advance for experiencing this with me.  it is definitely an experiment in vulnerability that i am praying goes well.

xoxo,

k.tap

p.s. click here for a few fun facts about me.

photo cred: gracelyn bateman – instagram: glynbman

 

 

 

fun facts

zodiac sign – aquarius

myers briggs type – intj

favorite color – in life, green; to wear, goldenrod yellow; for my hair, purple; neutral, gray

pet peeve – overuse of capital letters (or capital letters in general)

favorite food – sushi

favorite animal – elephants

favorite game – monopoly

favorite pastime – concerts/music festivals

favorite way to decompress – candlelit bubble baths

random fact – i am a twister champion and my flexibility is still on point (i can do a full split)

favorite drink – if it involves vodka, champagne or rose, count me in

favorite number – 13

thing i could not live without – my planner (pen + paper is better!)

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*photo taken by gracelyn bateman – instagram: @glynbman