Category Archives: Disney at Home

Epcot’s Germany Pavilion – Nudel Gratin at Home

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This weekend we decided to have our own Oktoberfest celebration at home.  We decided if we can’t celebrate it in World Showcase’s Germany Pavilion, we could bring a little Biergarten to our house.  We love beer and brats no matter the season, but German Nudel Gratin, a treat we usually only enjoy in Epcot, would add just the right touch to our celebration. And make us feel that much closer to our next Disney vacation.

Epcot’s Germany Pavilion – Nudel Gratin at Home

As usual, the application of my mad Google skills payed off with the recipe I needed.  Nudel Gratin is the German version of mac & cheese and calls for the addition of eggs which give the sauce a more custard-like consistency.  Swiss cheese and nutmeg add the flavors that elevate this dish to its happy-memories-of-Epcot deliciousness.

Joseph, taking our Oktoberfest theme to heart, decided we needed more. Appetizers and dessert, to be specific and he got busy making dough, because baking is his specialty. All those hours spent watching the Great British Baking Show have not go to waste. For starters, Joe chose pretzels and beer cheese dip. For dessert, caramel apple rolls. The pretzel making turned into a fun group activity and before long, we were scarfing down some warm delicious pretzels covered in tasty gooey cheese dip.  

After assembling my ingredients and with a little help from my favorite egg producers, I assembled the Nudel Gratin.  The recipe is easy, but total prep time is a little more than an hour.  Joseph tossed together some crispy, vinegar-y cabbage and apple slaw and while the Gratin was in the oven, I cooked up some brats. First I browned them, then tossed some beer in the pan, covered those brats up and let them cook through.  Once our cheesy side dish was ready to serve, it was time for our Oktoberfest-ival. 

Everything was scrumptious! We were so full, we put off dessert for an hour so we could appreciate those caramel apple rolls to the fullest. Joseph made the caramel rum sauce from scratch and its sweet buttery-ness was the perfect topping for those rolls. We considered our Oktoberfest a resounding (and fattening) success!

Have you made any Disney recipes at home lately? How’d it go?    

My Weight Loss – Not a Journey

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When people talk about their weight loss journeys, I imagine lengthy, epic treks of self discovery, changing habits, and learning about how to fuel a body for nourishment instead of eating for (sometimes) unhealthy reasons. It doesn’t sound bad at all and I am genuinely happy and supportive when one of my friends or coworkers embarks on their chosen variety of health-building adventure. For me, losing weight isn’t like that. It’s more like an MMA fight – a gloves off, no holds barred, cage match between me and the lazy overweight woman lurking inside of me. She is mighty bossy, stubborn and determined. But so am I.

Those Chins!

For me, the end of daylight savings time each fall brings on an irresistible urge to hibernate. When I leave work in the dark at the end of the day, I want to go home and enjoy warm, hearty comfort food and sleep. On the weekends I want to lay on the couch with Junior and watch sappy movies on the Hallmark channel and drink my favorite craft beers. I want to cook pastas and soups and stews that take hours to make and taste soothing and delicious. While I still exercise all winter long, the duration of said exercise gradually shrinks with every passing week until I’m down to 30 minutes roughly four times a week aside from the usual Sunday long run (I know this because my Fitbit tells me so). I become kind of fluffy-fit. I can still run a decent 5K or 10K time, but it’s not pretty (or comfortable). Every winter I gain weight and this past one was exceptionally extreme.

Who is that woman?

When spring arrived, I crawled out of my cave and found all the clothes in my closet had been replaced with much smaller ones. I’d grown an extra chin I nicknamed “Hank”. I looked back on January’s Disney World vacation pictures and wondered what the heck!?! I’d gotten so…uhm…f…f..f…full-figured! I looked in the mirror and said out loud – “THIS is ridiculous! Pull yourself together!” I started by setting three small goals: Lose 15 pounds, train for something fun, fit into the clothes I have & don’t buy any new ones in a larger size. Totally doable, right?

What the heck?

How’s it Going?

The battle has been fierce, but I’m winning. I’ve lost the weight and am two pencil skirts away from victory. I shed the first 10 pounds between April 1st to May 4th so I wouldn’t have to haul so much weight around on my bicycle during the Natchez Trace Century Ride. The rest has come off slowly, but I’ve been building muscle too and the results are not bad, if I do say so. I might not exactly love my body with its short limbs, long torso, and curvy bottom but my respect for it is growing and that’s good enough for me.

I wish I had a fool-proof method to share with you. Like a side hustle where I could sell you an amazingly effective nutrition and exercise plan and post Transformation Tuesday pictures on social media and make a bunch of money. I don’t have that. What’s working for me is to exercise more and eat less. I’ve given up (for now) my beloved stouts, porters, and IPAs. I aim for 360 active minutes per week – running, walking, bicycling, and weight training with my ASICS Studio App. That means I’m on my treadmill by 5:30 am before work every morning and must confess that this has been the hardest part. I eat the same breakfast every day (protein shake or bar and two hard-boiled eggs.). I eat tuna and veggies on a low carb wrap with an apple for lunch most days and for dinner I still eat the hearty comfort foods I love to cook but in much smaller portions and with a side salad.

ASICS Studio App

I log every single bite I eat into My Fitness Pal which is a total pain in the patootie, but is crucial to my success. As I’ve mentioned many times before, I don’t have a sweet tooth, but crave things like cheese, pasta, and rice – which I still eat, but I budget those calories into my day. This way, I don’t feel deprived. It also explains why I eat the same breakfast and lunch all the time which makes logging those meals plus budgeting cravings faster and easier. I aim for 1400-1600 calories a day on the days I exercise and slightly less on rest days. I eat more fruits and vegetables now…but not kale or riced cauliflower because I hate those and I’m not eating anything I hate. If my Fitbit is accurate, I burn between 2,000 and 2,200 on most days, so I should continue to lose about a pound a week until I can zip those last two skirts.

What’s With the Soul-Baring?

So…why am I sharing this with you? Two reasons: First, maybe one of you has also emerged from hibernation, found yourself with a too-small wardrobe and are trying to make a change…you can do it!!! We can support each other! Small goals reached with small changes makes all the difference in the long run. Second, remember that third goal I made to train for something fun? I’ve got that all settled and I’ll be back tomorrow to tell you what runDisney events are in my future and maybe some of you will be doing them too!

Is your weight loss a journey or a battle? What’s working for you?

Thanks for reading…Lisa

New Year, New Disney To-Do List

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So long, 2018, you were a lot of fun, you brought milestones and plenty of adventure, but it’s time for you to go.  Hello, 2019, I have high hopes for you.  If you don’t mind going a bit slower than last year, that’d be much appreciated.  I like to savor time and it likes to speed by faster than I ever imagined possible.

As usual, I’ll take a pass on any New Year’s Resolutions. No thanks, really, I’m a firm believer in making changes when the time is right, not because it’s January 1st.  So, having already turned over any leaves that were not to my liking, I’ll move on to my favorite part of the New Year…

New Disney To-Do List

See these movies: Usually we manage to head to our local theater on nearly every holiday we can. 2018 was different and I’ve got some movie catching up to do and boy, my entertainment budget is about to be blown to pieces. My ranking of importance to me is shown beside each movie. Outraged? Shout it out in a comment.

  • Ralph Breaks the Internet (8)
  • Mary Poppins Returns (6)
  • Captain Marvel (7)
  • Dumbo (1)
  • Avengers: Endgame (2)
  • Aladdin (5)
  • The Lion King (3)
  • Star Wars Episode 9 (4)
The Standard Movie Snacks

Try these attractions and restaurants:

  • Slinky Dog Dash in Toy Story Land
  • Wine Bar George in Disney Springs
  • Anything Star Wars that’s may be open in November
  • Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway

Add a new runDisney event (or two): I have my eye on the Wine and Dine 10k and half marathon for 2019. I’ve not tried these events before and the November timing makes them perfect for a short getaway to celebrate my birthday. I’ve got the room booked, now I just need some registration pixie dust…wish me luck!

Try new Disney recipes: One of my favorite ways to feel close to Walt Disney World when I can’t be there is by whipping up some of my favorite Disney flavors. I just peruse this list, find one I like, and get busy cooking! I promise to share every attempt with you, if not in person, then here where you can read all about it. (That Whispering Canyon cornbread we made recently was delish!)

  • Photo courtesy of Karen Seal

Meet up with Disney friends old and new! This is always on my to-do list for every Disney vacation and I’m going to try extra hard in 2019 to meet even more of you!

What about you? What’s at the top of your Disney to-do list? If you’ve got plans, I’d love to hear about them!

Thoughtful Gifts and Holiday Mishaps

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When asked what I wanted for Christmas, I jokingly said “new wiper blades” and seriously said, “new running shoes”.  I almost always ask for running shoes since I wear them out quickly and am always in need.  My family knows me well and Christmas morning came with a bounty of thoughtful gifts that left me feeling loved.

Thoughtful Gifts and Holiday Mishaps

There were Disney gifts, of course.  Megan and Grant gave me adorable holiday Mickey and Minnie.  Raymond surprised me with a precious Pinocchio teapot.  My coworkers gave me the perfect welcome mat for our front door.

There were chicken-related gifts as well.  My sister and brother-in-law gave me this very cool bracelet that I love (and wearing it makes me feel badass) and some paper place mats with chickens on them that are way to beautiful to spill food on.  From Joseph I got a handy book about caring for chickens and Raymond found me awesome gloves to wear for chicken chores.  I love my family and their thoughtful gift-giving ways!  (I even received those wiper-blades and running shoes, too!)

After Christmas, I had a few leftover vacation days to burn before the end of the year and since Raymond’s always off the week between Christmas and New Year, it was great to have time off together to do…well…nothing.  The weather has been super rainy lately, so we found ourselves lazing around, eating, reading, and watching movies.

Now for the Mishap Part…

When I’m not outside with Junior, he’s always well-behaved out on his own.  He tends to make a backyard perimeter check, take care of business, and come right back.  He’s chased the chickens before, but only when I was outside with him.  So when we go for a walk, he wears a leash.  I let him out alone yesterday afternoon as usual, and I as I closed the door, saw him turn sharply right and quickly disappear from view.  After thinking about it for a minute, that struck me as odd, so I put on my rubber boots and went out to see what he was doing.  Junior was nowhere to be found.

As I walked around the backyard calling for him, I realized I could hear the chickens squawking like crazy and I took off running.  I spotted Junior way in the distance chasing chickens into the bayou that runs near our house.  Detouring to the back door, I leaned in and shouted my thoughts out loud to Raymond, “Junior’s killing the chickens!”

Still running, I managed to wade out into the water and grab Junior’s collar.  He was completely drenched and absolutely filthy.  I looked for the chickens he’d been chasing and didn’t see any.  Raymond had run outside during this time and started counting chickens so we’d know how many to look for.  He counted 10 which meant we were missing five.  I was sick and horrified!  Not sweet Junior!  Surely he wouldn’t have hurt anyone.

Eventually, I got Junior in the house and asked Raymond to keep him in the kitchen to minimize the mess he was making with his muddy feet and soaking fur.  While they waited inside, I kept searching along the bayou and finally found Bubbles, a sweet and beautiful gray hen, on a tiny island all crumpled up and scared, but still alive.  I waded out to her, gently picked her up and carried her back to the rest of the flock.  After another long look around, I went inside to deal with the offending canine marauder.  Raymond went back out to keep searching for the missing four chickens – all hens:  Opal, Pearl, Becky, and Moe.  (All but Moe are Sapphire Gems we bought as chicks in the fall and Moe is one of the five that hatched in May while we were away at Walt Disney World.)

First I tried shampooing Junior in the shower since he hates baths, but his long winter coat was packed with dirt, rotten leaves, pine needles, and small sticks.  Raymond came in to tell me that by his latest count, there was only one chicken unaccounted for.  I had him help me wrangle Junior into the tub.  Finally, after both shower and bath, Junior was at last reasonably clean.  I don’t know if dogs can feel contrite, but Junior seemed to know that he’d gotten carried away and was uncharacteristically well-behaved for the entire scrubbing ordeal.

Once I had Junior towel-dried and on a leash, I took him back out to help me search for Moe.  We searched until it was dark.  I counted everyone in the coop as I closed and secured the gate for the night.  Still no Moe, who’s always easy to spot because she’s bright white with black feathers around her neck.  I left the electric fence off so if she came back and tried to go in the coop, she wouldn’t get shocked.  I was heartbroken when I went to bed and thought about Moe a few times during the night.

This morning dawned clear and chilly.  I went out early to let the chickens out and give them some scratch as a treat and I could not believe my eyes!  There was Moe!  IN THE COOP!  I know this…she was not there the night before and yet here she was inside with the rest of the flock.  Raymond and Joseph both swear they didn’t let her in, so I can’t explain how this story has such a happy ending.  Junior is not a chicken-killer after all and everyone is happily enjoying a beautiful sunny day.  Tiny miracles happen all the time and today we’re thankful for this one.