The weather has been horribly cold (-28°C or -18°F) and snowy so before the winter blues set in, we decided to have a Disney Staycation — bring a little bit of Disneyland right to the comfort of our home!
It all started one night when we were having fun, laughing and playing our Disneyland video game. Our avatar was running through Disneyland, getting autographs and pictures taken with the characters. Our avatar ran by restaurants around Mickey’s Toon Town, on Main Street and all over the Park while passing churro and popcorn stands, ice cream shops plus so much more, all while completing the activities the Disney characters gave us. I then thought, why not make this a whole day’s event – which actually turned into 2 days – of a Disney Staycation complete with playing the Disneyland game and having our very own version of food found around the theme park complete with hidden Mickeys!!
To start, we searched Disneyland online for restaurants and menu ideas and came up with what we were going to eat and cook and planned our menu. We went grocery shopping the day before so we were prepared. We planned our itinerary which included making the hidden Mickeys and choosing times to search for them, along with planning which parts of the game we would be playing when and which part of the game we would be in to momentarily pause so we could eat the foods we had chosen to have. We also paused the game, so we could cook everything fresh. The delicious recipes we made over the two days are being shared right here with you as we share our Disney Staycation!!!
It was so much fun and something we look forward to doing again! Not only did we cook our own delicious version of Disneyland food and enjoyed every bite, but my daughters were in charge of making paper “hidden Mickeys” as well as hiding them (they did 10 each), which we later searched for around our home each day. Since there’s hidden Mickeys to be found in the video game, my daughters decided to bring that activity into our Staycation!! And I am so glad they did — it was tons of fun looking for them! These were just a few of the hidden Mickeys from Day 1 of our Disney Staycation!
Once the hidden Mickeys were found and we played our Disneyland game for a bit, we began our day of feasting! We started our Disney Staycation menu with a caramel apple smoothie, fried pickles with dill dip and corndogs. We went the lazy route and purchased the corndogs since we simply could not pass up 2 for $1!
To make the fried pickles, we simply sliced our homemade pickles and set them aside. We then prepared our batter, dipped the dill pickles into flour, then the batter and cooked in a bit of oil. Once browned, we removed them and placed them to drain on paper towel. We then served it with a dill dip.
Batter for Fried Pickles: 1 egg, 1/2 cup cornstarch, 1/2 cup flour, pinch of pepper and a splash of water to make a thick gluey batter. Dredge sliced pickles in flour, then batter, then fry. Remove to paper towels to drain.
Dill Dip: 1/2 cup yogurt of choice, 1 tbsp mayo, juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/2 tsp dried dill, 1 tbsp fresh roughly chopped dill. Mix altogether and serve with fried pickles. This is also great on salad.
Caramel Apple Smoothie: 1 granny smith apple both peeled and rough chopped, 1-1/2 cups vanilla almond-coconut milk, 1 cup apple juice, 1/2 cup applesauce, 3 tbsp caramel sauce and 1-1/2 cups ice. Combine everything in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass and top with extra caramel sauce.
We sat and enjoyed our scrumptious snacks while starting up our game!
We found some hidden Mickeys hidden in the game and had pictures and autographs with characters like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Woody and so many more. This game is so easy to get caught up in and lose track of time! We all took turns, running through Disneyland, stopping to “chat” with characters, completing tasks the characters gave us like collecting candy apples for Pinocchio, gooseberries for Snow White, thread and fabric for Cinderella, pictures for Beast’s photo album that Belle wanted so she could give it to Beast, collect ingredients for Princess Aurora so she could make a cake, collect Peter Pan’s shadow, collect honey pots for Pooh Bear plus so much more. We played mini games to collect more hidden Mickeys and items the characters requested.
Next stop, churros!! After a couple hours of playing, jumping and going on adventures, it was time to make the churros!
For the churros, we made pate aux choux first and then spooned the mixture into a piping bag and piped the churros into the pan of hot oil. Once they were browned, we flipped them and browned the churros on the other side then removed them to paper towel to drain. While still hot, we tossed the churros into cinnamon sugar. These are tender and fluffy on the inside and crunchy on the outside — so delectable!
Churros: 1 cup water, 1/2 cup butter, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1-1/4 cups flour, 3 eggs. Add water and butter to saucepan and bring to a boil. Add salt, cinnamon and flour. Mix until it forms a ball. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well in between until mixture is smooth. Spoon into a piping bag with a large star tip. Heat 1-1/4 cups vegetable oil in a skillet. Carefully pipe churros into hot oil, whatever size you like (we went with smaller ones) cutting churro from piping bag with a sharp knife or kitchen scissors. Brown on each side before removing from pan. Drain on paper towel before dipping warm churros into cinnamon sugar (1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1/2 tsp cinnamon). Place churros in a bowl or on a plate and continue until batter is gone. These are best eaten fresh (the same day) and definitely are not as good the next day! Caramel and chocolate sauces taste great with the churros!
We ate the churros while we played our game for a while. We went to Toon Town and did the tasks the characters gave us like collecting posters for the Toon Town Election, playing mini games to collect Donald’s hat plus so much more. Once time went by again, which goes so quickly when getting wrapped up in this game, we enjoyed a little popcorn!!
After a while of playing again, we decided we were hungry for something more filling! We decided to have Bacon Mac ‘n Cheese Cones. First, we prepared our cones. We actually took the easy route and purchased crescent dough (although pizza dough would be so much better) and wrapped it around tin foil, shaped in a cone and then baked until golden brown.
Next, we prepared the bacon mac ‘n cheese. The macaroni was cooked ahead of time, rinsed under cold water until pasta was cool and then refrigerated until we needed it. We then prepared the cheese sauce, added the pasta, stirred and filled the dough cones. We ate this with a tossed salad with the dill dip from earlier.
Bacon Mac ‘n Cheese Cones: Prepare dough cones, bake until golden and set aside. Cook 1-1/2 cups pasta of choice (we used macaroni), drain and rinse under cold water to prevent pasta from clumping together. Set aside. For the cheese sauce, add 2 tbsp butter to a saucepan, add 1 diced onion, sprinkle of salt and pepper and 2/3 cup precooked bacon (I use the Kirkland Bacon Crumbles). Once onion is tender, add 3 tbsp flour. Stir until flour lightly browns. Add 1 cup milk of choice and 1/2 cup cream while whisking to avoid lumps. Stir until sauce thickens. If sauce is too thick, add more milk. Add 1 cup shredded cheese. Stir. Add cooked pasta. Stir well. Spoon into dough cones. This pasta is amazingly delicious and is great without the dough cone too! Serve with a tossed salad or vegetables of choice.
Day 2
We started the day with Mickey Pancakes and a malted milkshake.
You can easily prepare this batter the evening before and set it in the fridge overnight. You can use this batter for pancakes or waffles and can cook them in any shape you like or in the Disney waffle irons. We opted for regular waffles as well as pancakes made in the shape of the iconic Mickey head! There’s a few steps to this recipe like making the batter, whipping the egg whites and then folding them in before cooking but it is so worth it! These are delicious and are equally fantastic the next day!
Mickey Pancakes: 1-1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup cornstarch, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 cup malted milk powder (we used chocolate), 1/2 cup oil, 1-1/2 cups buttermilk, 1/2 cup milk, 2 eggs separated, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 tbsp sugar. Combine first 6 ingredients together and stir. Add oil, buttermilk and milk, egg yolks, vanilla and sugar together. Stir well. Set aside. Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold egg whites into batter. Once incorporated, spoon into hot skillet in Mickey shapes or as regular pancakes. Once bubbles pop on surface and pancake looks opaque and is browned, flip. Continue until batter is gone or spoon into a waffle iron. Enjoy with syrup, whipped cream or cinnamon sugar.
Malted Milk Shake: 2 cups frozen yogurt, 1/4 cup malted milk powder, 1 cup ice, 1 tsp vanilla, 3 cups milk of choice. Blend until well blended. Pour into glasses.
Once we had breakfast and played the game for a couple hours, we searched for hidden Mickeys again! They were in some sneaky spots this time!!
After playing the game once again, which seemed like it was only for minutes but turned out to be just over three hours, we decided to prepare our next delicious Disneyland inspired meal! We had a hearty homemade tomato soup with grilled cheese. It was delicious and a perfect way to fuel us to continue our Disney Staycation!!
This soup has a few steps to it, but is well worth it. The sundried tomatoes add a little extra flavor and you can use as much as you would like. And the cream cheese adds a creaminess and delicious subtle flavor that cuts through the acidity of the tomatoes. Let’s get to it!
Tomato Soup: Saute 1 diced onion, 1 minced garlic clove and 3 chopped sundried tomatoes. Once onions are tender, add 4 cups vegetable broth (we use a veggie stock pod with 4 cups of water), 1 – 28oz/796ml can diced tomatoes, 1 – 28oz/796ml can crushed tomatoes, 1 cup water, 1 tbsp sugar, sprinkle salt and pepper, 1 tbsp vinegar. Cook 45 minutes. Cool slightly. Puree soup and add back to the pot with 3/4 cup cream and 4oz cream cheese. Simmer 10 minutes, do not boil or soup may look curdled.
Grilled Cheese: We used fresh homemade bread, but you can use any bread you like. Butter each side of bread with butter or mayo. For cheese, we used provolone slices along with regular cheese slices and some shredded marble cheese. Place lid on skillet for a few minutes. Cook until browned, remove lid and flip sandwich. Cook on other side until brown, without the lid. Remove from pan and let sit a few minutes before cutting.
After we enjoyed this most delicious soup, we needed a sweet treat! We simply could not pass up homemade caramel apples! In the game, Pinocchio searches for toffee apples, so we thought the caramel apples would work perfectly!
Caramel Apples: Place sticks in apples and set aside. We used granny smith apples as well as spartan apples. Some we left without sticks, but that was a little tricky to dip. Unwrap caramels and place in a saucepan with 3 tbsp cream. Stir often until melted. Once creamy, dip apples quickly because caramel sets rather quickly. You can add marshmallows for Mickey ears and adding melted chocolate over top to hide them or drizzle with melted chocolate or omit. Dip caramel apples in sliced almonds or sprinkles or leave as is. Place dipped apples on parchment paper. Once caramel is set, enjoy.
After, we played the game a while longer until early evening. It was so much fun, we really did not want the day to end!
But, we did decide to end the day with a homemade Dole Whip which was absolutely divine and tasted like a pineapple sherbet.
Pineapple Dole Whip: 2 cups frozen pineapple, 2 cups frozen yogurt or ice cream, 1 cup pineapple juice, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tbsp sugar. Blend until smooth. Serve quickly as it melts fast!
And that was a spectacular way to end our Disney Staycation! It was yummy and so much fun to cook together while we enjoyed a Disneyland Staycation from the comfort of our home! We are looking forward to enjoying another Staycation soon!
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enjoy from Our City Homestead to yours