Our First Day in Walt Disney World!

So we flew to Orlando out of the Buffalo airport at 5:30am! It was an early morning flight, but totally worth it so we could have a full day of fun in the sun. We spent our first day in Epcot, which was walking distance from the first resort we stayed at - the Boardwalk Villas. Our room was ready when we arrived, which we were really impressed with considering it was only 9 o'clock in the morning! So we dropped off our carry-ons to the room and got ready to hit the park!

We got to ride Soarin', caught a sneak preview of Tomorrowland, which they were showing in the Captain EO theater (Captain EO was "down" for the special sneak preview) and one of our favorite attractions, Spaceship Earth. We walked around quite a bit to look at all of the gardens and topiaries, since we were able to catch the last week of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. I even braved going into the Butterfly garden and no - I did not freak out when the butterflies landed on me (like I did last year - people probably thought I was nuts!). We got to see the new Anna & Elsa topiaries, which were quite exquisite. Mom and Dad's favorite topiary was the Lady & the Tramp one located outside of Italy. They said it reminded them of Marv and Jameson.

Speaking of Marv and Jameson, they "vacationed" with my parents, who decided not to join us on this trip. They had a great time and enjoyed chasing Buddy around.

A funny situation did happen while we were walking around World Showcase, Dad was taking a picture of Christopher and I in Japan and a Disney World security officer stopped Dad and gave him a ticket! No worries - it was a citation for him not being in the picture with us. We have never seen this in the parks before. The officer was very nice and funny, he even made Dad a Junior Officer to protect the magic, complete with a badge sticker! Dad was very proud and wore his sticker for the rest of the trip.

As we walked around World Showcase, we also sampled some of the food offerings for the flower & garden festival. We sampled the Crispin' Blackberry Pear cider, a cronut (Christopher's favorite", duck confit with parsley potatoes, smoked debreziner sausage and pineapple sparkling wine. All were yummy!

We had lunch at Via Napoli and split a huge pepperoni and sausage pizza. It was delicious and so fresh. Then we split tiramisu, which was so amazing and authentic. We really liked our experience at this restaurant and hope to return in future trips. For families, this was a very affordable option for dining.

We then took a little break in the afternoon and went back to the resort to unpack and freshen up. Christopher and I then took a little walk around Crescent Lake and he treated me to my pearl for the trip. I ended up picking an oyster with an 8mm pearl! I am one lucky girl!

Dinner was at Le Cellier in the Canadian pavilion. And it was of course fabulous. Our server was pleasant and from Ontario. Christopher and I split the famous beer cheddar soup and we all ordered the filet mignon with wild mushroom risotto (yes, even I ate the risotto - it was worth the headache). Mom and Dad split creamed spinach to pair with their steak and Christopher and I split the mac & cheese. We were too full for dessert (I know - the Maple Creme Brulee - next time!). Since our reservation was late (at 8:50 pm), when we left the restaurant, we were one of the last ones left in the park. Which is an experience in itself since the park is so empty and quiet.

It was such a wonderful first day at Walt Disney World. We all fell right asleep and got to sleep in on Thursday.

Whole Chicken in the Crock Pot

This came out of the crock pot - who knew!

This week I feel like Christopher and I are running in two different directions. We try very hard to sit down together for dinner, but sometimes that is hard because we have meetings after work. Yesterday, I was the one who had the event at 6 pm but I still wanted to squeeze in dinner together before I left.

I bought a whole roasting chicken to have this week and decided to try it in the crock pot (my NEW crock pot - so excited to use it). It came out great! I thought it would be too soft and not flavorful, but that was not the case! I highly recommend saving time and cooking it this way. I did a lemon-garlic seasoning that worked well. This is what I did:

Inside the crock pot, I made a "bed" for the chicken to lay on of a sliced onion, carrots and celery. Then I took the washed and patted dry chicken and laid it inside the crock pot. I then sliced a lemon and three garlic cloves and threw them inside the chicken. On the outside of the chicken, I seasoned with salt, pepper and my handy lemon-garlic seasoning. That is it! I set my crock pot on low for 8 hours.

When it was time to eat, I took the chicken out (carefully) and placed it in a roasting pan. Then turned my oven onto broil and broiled the chicken for about 5-7 minutes so the skin could brown and crisp up. This worked perfectly to give the chicken the roasted look.

Bonus for creating the "bed" of veggies is that it propped up the chicken and all of the juices from the chicken collected in the bottom. BONUS - now I have the broth I need to make chicken noodle soup with the cooked veggies.

We enjoyed our chicken with leftover potatoes and veggies from the previous nights meal. I was able to come home and eat dinner within 25 minutes before turning around for my event.

BONUS - I now have the base for my chicken soup!

Our Thanksgiving Celebration

Our Thanksgiving celebration was absolutely wonderful! Everything went very smoothly and all of the food was delicious. We could not have done it without the help of our wonderful mothers and the delicious desserts from Uncle Jeff.

To start, we had some delicious light appetizers of fruit, cheese, crackers and delicious veggies.

Of course our Thanksgiving dinner would not be complete without my Mom's amazing French Onion Soup. There was barely any leftover - much to everyone's disappointment.

For the main course we served: Turkey, gravy, apple-sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, corn, carrots, jello, cranberry sauce, applesauce and rolls. Yummy.

And since we left room for dessert (or just over ate like everyone else lol) - for dessert we served, 3 pies - apple, pumpkin and cherry, chocolate cake (Wegman's Ultimate - thanks Uncle Jeff!) and a pumpkin roll.

But our favorite part of Thanksgiving was spending time with each other. It was so great to see my cousin Brandon and meet his girlfriend Crystal. And J was able to come home for the holiday too!

Marv and Jameson also received lots of snuggles from their grandparents. We served them a special dinner too - Turducken dog food. It actually looked like a real "human" stew. Not that we were able to try it lol.

All in all it was a great holiday. I love spending time with my family!

Le Cellier Inspired Beer Cheese Soup

Yes Disney is still on my brain. My in-laws are visiting there right now and I would be lying if I did not say I was a little jealous. So in honor of their trip, our upcoming trip and Disney on the brain, I made a Le Cellier inspired Beer Cheese Soup.

1/4 lb bacon (finely chopped)
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup carrot, finely chopped
3 tbsp all purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
2 cups chicken stock
12 oz grated or shredded cheddar cheese
3 dashes of hot sauce
1/2 tsp worchestershire sauce
1/2 cup beer (dark ale preferred)
salt & pepper to taste
Chopped chives for garnish

Tip: To "chop" the bacon, I used a pair of poultry scissors and cut the bacon into small pieces. In addition, I highly recommend using a food processor with a chopping option. It saves a lot of time.

Saute the bacon in a large, heavy-bottom, non-reactive stock pot over medium heat until wilted but not browned. Add onions, celery and carrots and cook until onions are translucent and bacon has crisped. Sprinkle in flour and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Stir in milk and chicken stock, a little at a time, blending well to ensure that there are no lumps. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the cheese, hot sauce, worcestershire sauce and beer. Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with the chives if you like.

Yummy! Enjoy with some pretzel rolls or sticks :) Just like in the restaurant!

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

With Fall in full gear, I am ready for soup weather. At least soups that I like to make and are willing to eat. I recently got into soups and decided they were not too bad (I know Mom - who am I??). I googled tomato basil soup, as this is one of my favorites to get at restaurants, and found an easy and delicious sounding recipe from the Food Network's Ina Garten.

I made it and it turned out great! Even Christopher liked it and he really isn't into tomato based soups. I think he was hoping I would make a beer cheese soup, or something along those lines.

Here are the easy directions. Plus - your kitchen will smell fantastic while it is stewing :) Perfect for football Sundays.

3 lbs plum tomatoes, quartered
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsps olive oil
2 tbsp salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 yellow onions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 crushed red pepper flakes
1 28 oz can of plum tomatoes
4 cups fresh basil leaves, packed (you read that right - 4 CUPS)
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 quart (4 cups) chicken stock

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss together the tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread the tomatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes.  While the tomatoes are roasted, cut and mince all other ingredients. In an 8-quart stockpot over medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the butter and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes, until the onions start to brown. Add the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme and chicken stock. Add the oven-roasted tomatoes, including the juice and extra liquid on the baking sheet. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes.

Ina Garten uses a food mill to puree the soup. I do not have a food mill, so I used our food processor and the puree option. Note - this will get really messy, but it is totally worth it! We served the soup hot and with a little sprinkle of cheddar cheese on top!