Disney Recipes: Banana Bread

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. water

2 cups bananas, mashed

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350:. Sift together flour,salt and baking soda. Set aside. Melt butter on the stove or in microwave. Mix butter and sugar until well blended. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition. Add bananas and vanilla. Fold in flour mixture and walnuts and blend until all flour is moist. Grease 2 loaf pans and divide batter equally between the 2 pans. Bake for 1 hour or until center of loaf is firm and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Disney Recipes: Breakfast Potatoes

3 C. red potatoes, cut in 3/4″ cubes

1/3 C. onions, diced

5 T. green bell peppers, diced

4 T. red bell peppers, diced

1 T. butter

1/2 t. parsley flakes

2 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. seasoned salt

Black pepper to taste

Oil for frying

In a deep fryer or skillet with 1-2 inches of oil, fry potatoes until golden brown; drain and set aside. Saute onions and bell peppers in butter. Mix in potatoes. Add parsley, garlic powder, seasoned salt and black pepper. Serves 4-6.

Disney Recipes: “Cheese French Toast”

From Cinderella’s Royal Table

Yield: 8 Servings

2 each eggs

2 cups milk

1 Tbsp. vanilla

Mix ingredients and set aside.

4 Tbsp. baking powder

4 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Sift ingredients together and add to egg mixture. Allow to stand for 10

minutes.

1 quart frying shortening

6 each cheese danish cut in quarters

Cinnamon/sugar

Dip cut cheese danish into the egg batter. Bring shortening to 375 degrees and place dipped bread in fryer until golden brown on one side and turn over to brown other side. Roll in cinnamon/sugar and serve immediately.

Disney Recipes: Tonga Toast

2 or 4 slices sourdough bread, cut 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick

1 banana

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

oil or shortening for frying

whipped butter and/or syrup

Cut a 1-inch pocket in one side of each bread slice. Cut banana in half crosswise, then split each piece lengthwise. Remove peel and stuff 2 pieces of fruit in each pocket of bread; set aside. Mix sugar and cinnamon; set aside. Mix well the egg, milk and vanilla.

Heat about 4 inches of oil in a pan to 350 degreesF. Dip stuffed bread into egg/milk mixture and let it soak a few seconds to let penetrate bread. Fry bread on both sides in hot oil until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels or wire rack.

Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and serve.

Excerpt: Vacationing Disneyland the Sane Way: Begin with the end in mind

The best way to get started with your Disney vacation is to visualize how you want the trip to end, what is your ultimate goal? It is to enjoy time with your family? Get away from the office? Relax? Spoil the grandchildren? What is it that you want remember at the end of the trip, what are those objectives?

Why ask this question, you may ask. The reason is that many people have bought into the great marketing that the Walt Disney Company kicks out every holiday. Then they save all year, work overtime, and then spend what amounts of a life’s savings on a weeklong trip; spend even more then they had saved so they can enjoy all of their hard work; and then have their child have a melt-down at 3pm on the first day! But since we’ve spend all this money, worked so hard, traveled so far, we drag out family militaristically through the park – because we’re at Disneyland, we have to have fun!

Or here is another scenario… half way through the day your child just rode Autopia for this very first time, and they loved it… they ask to go again. You just waited in a 45 minute line and this was your second ride so far. The reality is that if you tell them, “if we have time later” – it typically doesn’t happen. Why? Because Disneyland is so expansive, over their 100+ acres that even with 5 days in Disneyland, you still will not have time to experience everything. So typically, there is “no time later”… But, if you’re there as a family – then another time through the ride would be a great memory for them – and it can be great family time together in line.

Another tip we’ll share later centers directly over the vacation or relaxation part of a Disneyland vacation. Many people think it will be relaxing, but the only way for this to be true is if you intentionally make it this. There are many things which are vying for your attention that, if you let it, will consume all of your available time. If you want a Disney vacation to be relaxing, it can be, but just decide that up front and later we’ll share how this can become reality.

Finally, understand what can realistically be accomplished and you’ll have a great time. I recently took a trip with my son (17 months) and our 6 year old friend – yes, a boy’s trip to Disneyland. It was for exactly 24 hours (travel time included). We had an absolutely amazing, fantastic trip – spent only about 10 hours in the park any everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Tyler loved the fact that he got to drive the Autopia cars twice, experience snowfall, and fight Darth Vader on stage after being selected as a Jedi Padawan. Fantastic trip, very short, but met our expectations.

Disney Recipes: Monte Cristo Sandwich

From Blue Bayou restaurant in New Orleans Square at Disneyland

Monte Cristo Sandwich is served with currant jelly sauce. First prepare this, then make the batter. While it is chilling, put together the sandwiches. When the sandwiches are fried, the complete service is ready.

Currant Jelly Sauce

2/3 c. currant jelly

1 TB water

1 TB half and half

Combine jelly, water and half and half in blender and mix until smooth. Makes about 3/4 cup.

Batter

2/3 c. water

1 small egg

1/2 t. salt

1/8 t. white pepper

few drops yellow food coloring

2/3 c. all-purpose flour

1 3/4 t. baking powder

Place water, egg, salt, pepper and food coloring in a bowl and using an electric mixer, mix well at low speed. Add flour and baking powder and mix until batter is smooth. Chill. Makes enough for 4 sandwiches.

Sandwiches

8 slices white bread

4 slices turkey (1 oz. each)

4 slices swiss cheese

4 slices Pullman ham

Make 4 sandwiches, putting cheese between hand and turkey. Cut into fourths and put a toothpick through each quarter.

Final Preparation:

soybean or vegetable oil for frying

Confectioners’ sugar

currant jelly sauce

Heat about 6-inches of oil to 340F in a fryer. Dip sandwiches in batter to cover all surfaces. Deep fry sandwiches until golden brown, turning as needed. Remove from oil, take out toothpicks, sprinkle sandwiches with confectioners’ sugar. Serve with currant jelly sauce.

Disney Recipes: Polynesian Luau Chicken

1 whole chicken ( 2-3 lb) 

1 tablespoon poultry seasoning

1 tablespoon black pepper (ground)         

3 tablespoons rosemary ( ground)

1 ½ tablespoons garlic powder          

1 tablespoon curry powder

2 tablespoons onion powder    

1 tablespoon Chinese five spice powder

2 cups sugar                            

1 cup chicken base

1 ½ tablespoons garlic salt   

3 tablespoons fennel ( ground )

Wash whole chicken in fresh running water, pat dry and cut into 8 pieces, ( 2 breasts, 2 wings, 2 legs, 2 thighs) .  Combine all seasoning ingredients in large mixing bowl, Sprinkle on chicken evenly and allow to marinate at least 3 hours or overnight if possible. Preheat oven  to 375ºF.  Place seasoned chicken on wire rack in roasting pan. Bake for 20 minutes, . Turn down oven to  250ºF and continue to bake for another 30-40 minutes . Chicken will be crispy and golden brown.

Kids Fly Free to the Disneyland® Resort!

It’s back, I just got this offer in the mail today:

Book a Disneyland® Resort vacation package and get one FREE* child’s airfare on select flights for each paid adult traveling with your party when you travel to the Disneyland® Resort through June 17, 2009. Book your vacation by May 31, 2009.

More information at www.disneyland.com/ckff

D23

Just some quick thoughts on the new Disney Official Fan Community called D23. A lot has been said about the value of this new program and some people love it, and others are questioning the value… Here is my quick reactions:

• Initial reaction: this has the potential to be something great – Disney just needs to not mess up a great idea!
• It’s about time that an official fan site becomes available
• The price at the moment does appear to be a bit expensive for the limited number of benefits, and really only provides value if you are going to use everything you have access to
• However, all of the details are not known yet — the mystery gift will have  a large barring on the value

But here is the my rant…

• About half of the things offered by this new club was already in existence under the annual pass – so, while the annual pass has had it’s value decreased, and then eventually repackaged as a separate package to purchase doesn’t sound right — almost like raising the price on something, only later to put it on sale (back to the original price) but now calling it a sale. Beyond that, there are a bunch of other programs which offer various benefits, many of which overlap to some degree.
• What would it look like if we really kept it simple. Let’s return to just the annual pass and pour more benefits into the annual pass. I wonder how many people who purchase D23 already have an AP?
• Realize that each new program which comes out and has overlapping value, actually decreases their individual value over time… let see if I can make this a bit more clear: the annual pass provides a bunch of benefits, including discounts at restaurants and merchandise (which is part of the value of the AP); but then there is the Disney Visa Card (which isn’t the best card out there, but) provides similar discounts; and then there is the Disney Vacation Club — and how much do you want to bet that this will include discounts. Now, individually if you just had one, they might add up to be significant. But when I have the Disney Visa Card, the AP and now D23 — those small discounts become insignificant.
• Sooo instead of a bunch of programs, how about just one or two programs – and pour value into the AP, instead of fragmenting the value (and decreasing individual value, yet maintaining the cost)…

Just my thoughts… I am curious to see what comes out as this comes near.

Happy Birthday Mickey

Simply a quick shout out to Mickey Mouse has he celebrates his 80th birthday. Boy, does he look great for his age!!!