Category: COOKING DISNEY AT HOME

COOKING DISNEY AT HOME

WHAT EXACTLY IS IN THE GREY STUFF?

Beauty and the Beast: The Grey Stuff

TAKES ABOUT 20 MINUTES

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups of milk
  • 3.4 ounces of instant vanilla pudding mix
  • 15 cookie and cream sandwiches
  • Food processor
  • 8 ounces of whipped topping
  • 1 tablespoon of instant chocolate pudding mix
  • Scalloped cookies

Directions

  1.  Pour 1 1/2 cups of milk in a mixing bowl. Add 3.4 ounces of instant vanilla pudding mix, and whisk until smooth.
  2.  Take 15 cookie and cream sandwiches and place them in your food processor, puree until cookies are finely ground.
  3.  Add the pureed cookies to the original mix. Stir with a spoon until ingredients are fully mixed.
  4.  Add 8 ounces of whipped topping and 1 tablespoon of instant chocolate pudding mix. Stir all ingredients until fully mixed.
  5.  Take mix and put in refrigerator. Chill to thicken.
  6.  Place your mix (“grey stuff”) into a piping bag. Put aside.
  7.  Take a scalloped cookie and spread grey stuff with piping bag.
  8. BON APPETIT
 
COOKING DISNEY AT HOME, disney themed fun, Uncategorized

BE MY DISNEY VALENTINE

Looking to add a little Disney flair to your Valentine’s Day this year? Here are our top five ideas on how to do it:

  • ADD A LITTLE ROMANCE TO YOUR DINNER, DISNEY STYLE: my absolute favorite way to do it is by sharing a plate of spaghetti with my loved one. If you’ve never tried it, as silly as it may sound, please do. Happen to be at Tony’s Restaurant in the Magic Kingdom? The restaurant is designed after the real place where this magic happened. So try it there. Trust me.
  • DISNEY MOVIE VALENTINE FAMILY NIGHT – Staying in with your family this Valentine’s Day? Make it a family night. Make your own popcorn, add some red sprinkles and pink M&Ms for some flair. Try making cookie cutter valentine’s snacks (you can use cookie cutters on just about any kind of food). Finish the evening with some Jello Fun. Need family ideas? Try these: Beauty and the Beast, Ratatouille, Lady and the Tramp, Frozen, Cinderella.
  • Find ways to #BEKIND. Put Disney Quotes around your house with the “BEKIND” Theme. Need some ideas? Try these:
  1. A friend is one of the nicest things that you can have and one of the best things you can be (Winnie the Pooh)
  2. Remember, you’re the one that can fill the world with sunshine (Snow White)
  3. Live like there is no midnight (Cinderella)
  4. Be who you are on the inside (Moana)
  5. Prove yourself to be Brave, Truthful, and Unselfish (Pinnochio)
 
COOKING DISNEY AT HOME, DINING, Uncategorized

IF PEOPLE WOULD ONLY LOOK TO THE COOKIE, ALL OUR PROBLEMS WOULD BE SOLVED.. OTHERWISE ENTITLED DO YOU GET A DISNEY DINING PLAN????

You wouldn’t eat broccoli if it was deep fried in chocolate sauce, right? What if it was an approved snack entitlement  in the world of Disney Dining?

Never heard of the disney dining plan? With the Dining Plan you enjoy pre-paid meals at over 100 locations throughout Disney Parks, Disney Resorts, and Disney Springs. After doing some research of my own, and trying the plan out.. I’ve decided. The plan is a million dollar idea (literally). It’s crunchy. It’s explosive. You can break free with it and sort of do your own thing. Almost as good as just the top of a muffin. Seriously.

What’s even better? You don’t have to sit at a diner counter and wait for your coffee to be poured. If the pretzels you choose as your snack make you thirsty, the plan includes a Resort Dining Mug, which has unlimited refills of coffee, soda, tea, hot chocolate, lemonade. You get these refills at all of the Disney Resort beverage stations, which are usually open from about 630am or so until as late as 11pm. 

Another great key to the Disney Dining Plan is that your trip is basically pre paid. The bill that often hits you at the end of a trip won’t be AS MUCH of a surprise. While gratuities are not included with the dining plan (unless you are at a few of the character meals), everything else is. 

If you like to eat, it’s a win-win plan. Just be sure to use up the plan before you go (HINT – take some snacks as gifts)))!! Because, who’s going to turn down a junior mint? It’s chocolate, it’s peppermint, it’s delicious!

Click here for a  link to WDW Dining Blog’s Dining Plan Chart with Prices and great explanations: 

All in all, as Julia Child once said, People who love to eat are always the best people. So if you are one of those “best people”, I suggest the dining plan. 

 

 

 
COOKING DISNEY AT HOME, disney themed fun

NIBBLE NIBBLE LIKE A ____ WHO’S BEEN NIBBLING IN MY STORY? IN OTHER WORDS, AN ODE TO OUR FAVORITE DISNEY RODENTS

I once knew a mouse who didn’t have a house… and he crossed into mine. When a real live mouse first crossed my path, I wanted to put an outfit on him right away. My mom, on the other hand, called our next door neighbor and borrowed a cat. The cat, a natural predator, took care of my potential friend right away. 

Disney is one of the few companies that seems to humanize mice: 

  • Cinderella 
  • Dumbo
  • The Rescuers
  • The Rescuers Down Under
  • The Aristocrats
  • Ratatouille (my favorite!)

Don’t forget the most famous mice: Mickey & Minnie and family.  While Mickey and Minnie don’t have standard human names, most of the others do (Gus, Bianca, Mortimer, Jaq, Olivia..) Pink Floyd called it’s mouse “Gerald”. 

Why are mice so human in Disney films? Does anyone know whether Walt or his family had any special experiences with mice? Were they especially loyal to him? Did they make him any cute outfits to go to a ball?  Perhaps they cooked him breakfast

I haven’t been able to figure it out. And where do Tom and Jerry fit in (Metro Goldwyn-Mayer rivals)? Which mice came first? As much as I feel for the mice in Disney films, I still don’t think I’ll let them cook for me, even if the mouse I meet has a human name. 

 

 
COOKING DISNEY AT HOME, DISNEY RESORTS, travel

CELEBRATION, ORLANDO: NOT “PARADISE FALLS” BUT A RESOURCE WE SHOULD ALL BE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF. (photo credit: Disney)

You don’t need to turn your home into a makeshift aircraft to get to Celebration, just outside of Orlando: It’s a $10 to $20 cab ride from most Disney resorts.  If we are staying in a room with a kitchen, for more than a week, we always take the trip.  

Celebration, a community that broke ground in 1994, is just south of Walt Disney World. World Drive is the major north-south road in Walt Disney World with the Magic Kingdom at its northern-most point and Celebration at its southern-most point with Celebration Boulevard leading the way into Downtown Celebration. Once in Celebration, follow the signs towards Market Street to reach the downtown. The center of town is located at the intersection of Front Street and Market Street. The “town”, or “community” of 8000 people is situated on top of 11 miles of Florida swamp.

There are restaurants, nail salons, and grocery stores. Try:

Publix: 29 Blake Boulevard, Celebration FL 34747

Goodies Supermarket: 2901 Parkway Boulevard Kissimee, Celebration FL 34747

Many of the celebration restaurants will deliver food directly to your hotel, on an evening that you don’t feel like a restaurant or room service.

Is it worth the time and energy to spend a few hours of your vacation shopping? That depends on your needs. Companies like THE GARDEN GROCER will deliver groceries to you – for a price.  

 
COOKING DISNEY AT HOME, disney themed fun

Making that Mickey Cake.

Did you know that Mickey Mouse was the first cartoon character to get his own star on the Hollywood walk of fame?? Born on November 18th, 1928 at the premiere of Steamboat Willie in Manhattan, Mickey received his Hollywood star for his 50th birthday in 1978.

Although the first words Mickey ever spoke were “hot dogs!!”, we’re going to talk about cake.

I’ve definitely seen more detailed cakes out there, but this cake is my go to cake right now for a family party or friend’s bbq (where kids are involved, of course). Kids seem to appreciate my eccentric design method. I am absolutely not gifted the way some people out there are, as I have seen many different ways of making Mickey, even making him into Minnie.

The common theme in almost all of the cakes is the famous Wilton Cake pan, pictured here:

For roughly $12.00, you have a mold that will last a lifetime – I think I may have even bought it for less.

So with that in mind, I used the basic white cake recipe from my Joy of Cooking Cookbook, depicted at JoyofBaking.com, click here. Note:: I did not use her cream cheese frosting idea.

Then, a simple buttercream frosting.

  • In medium bowl, mix powdered sugar and butter with spoon or electric mixer on low speed. Stir in vanilla and 1 tablespoon of the milk.
  • Gradually beat in just enough remaining milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time.

Add chocolate chips around the ears and nose (delicious to add!!)

Sprinkles along the mouth. There are a ton of different ways to decorate the Mouse – be creative and have fun!!!

Wondering why the toothpicks are there? Well, it’s a rather odd shape to travel with – and I have to cover it with aluminum foil -the toothpicks keep the aluminum foil from ruining my creation!!!

The two people who created the voices for Mickey and Minnie were married in real life, and I’m pretty sure with some creativity you can convert this Mickey pan to a Minnie – If you’ve made this cake, feel free to comment with decorating tips or send me images, I will add to the post!!!

Our favorite dessert!!!

 
COOKING DISNEY AT HOME

Waffling 

We all love waffles!!! And after our first visit to Disney, where cute are waffles present at every buffet, we loved them even more. 

But when I came home and tried to make the usual breakfast, my kids wouldn’t eat plain waffles because they weren’t shaped like the master mouse himself. 

So, I ran to amazon and bought the waffle maker below, along with the grid conditioner, and have never looked back. Click on the waffle maker below to be directed to the amazon listing if interested.

Here is my go to recipe, feel free to throw in any extras, vegetables or fruit, if you like: 

  • 2 cups flour (whichever kind you would like)
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 banana
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 cup milk