Shenanigans with Chili

So, it has been a while. A lot longer than I had intended between posts. It was a little of lack of inspiration. A lot of having my attention on other projections on-line. And a whole lot of overtime at work. But, for now, things appear to be slowing back down to normal.

My parents have announced that we will be taking a trip to Walt Disney World in October. That's right. Food and Wine Festival. I know, I'm excited too. In effort to get back in to the swing of things and get pumped for the upcoming trip (yes, I am aware that it is still over nine months away) I have decided to get back on track and continue my journey through the Disney cookbooks. I made beer cheese soup about a week ago (I'm not saying it helped the Packers beat the Cowboys, but I'm just saying the soup had just finished when the game winning field goal was made...) But, I've already covered that here. So, its still football season and while it's not to terribly cold out winter is still here. What is better than chili in winter? Just about nothing.

I found the recipe for Walt Disney's personal chili in on of my books. So, I set about planing the meal. What is funny is I wanted to do everything according the the recipe since I knew I would be writing a blog about it, but nothing seemed to go my way no matter what I did.

I had read the ingredient list and directions. I was prepped to make the chili in the middle of the work week. It would be perfect for dinner and have tons of leftovers. But, apparently I hadn't read the instructions as carefully as I thought. The recipe clearly said to soak the beans overnight.Well I hadn't, so we had something else and then I planned to make it on another night. Well, then I read that the beans needed to simmer for two hours. I don't have that kind of time during the week. So, chili and cornbread would go great with the NFL playoff games on Sunday.

I soaked the beans overnight. There really wasn't a clear timeframe. In the morning I was surprised to find that the beans had nearly soaked up all the water. Following the directions I drained, rinsed, and put them in a pot with fresh water. Here is where things got a little weird. The recipe says to use a 2 quart sauce pan. I had to use a 5 quart dutch oven and still didn't have enough room. Granted I did use kidney beans, which the recipe does not call for, but I like them in my chili so I went with it. On the flip side the beans are supposed to sinner with chopped onions (2 whole white onions) for two hours. I somehow forgot to get onions so I didn't have them in the pot.

I ended up taking about a third of the beans out to use a different night. Waste not want not after all. I don't know how two pounds of pinto beans alone would fit in a 2 quart pot if 3 pounds of beans fills a 5 quart pot, but math was never my strong point...

The garlic with the ground beef and celery smelled absolutely amazing. I thought it couldn't get any better, but then I added the spices. I had been wrong. My boyfriend and I had to have a quick snack because the smell had our mouths watering and stomachs growling. I had the beans simmering and the meat mixture simmering at the same time. I figured it would be easier that way. I was surprised at how little of the spices the directions called for, but I figured it would turn out just fine.

By the time it simmering time was complete I realized that this recipe was not the kind of chili that I am used to. I wold totally put it on a hotdog, or a baked potato, or possibly some steamed rice. But I would not consider it to be a bowl of chili. There wasn't much liquid to it. It was simply beans, spices, and ground beef. So, after some quick collaboration with my boyfriend we decided to add a can of tomato paste, a can of tomato sauce, a little water, and more spices. A lot more.

We let our new concoction simmer for nearly a half hour so all the flavors could meld together. I was pleased with the final product. The beans were not as tender as I would have liked, but perhaps I had not cooked them enough before adding them. The original recipe said it would serve four people, they must have been four very hungry people. Before I made my additions I had enough in the pot for at least two dinners and lunch for my boyfriend and I. Now, I have enough chili in my fridge to feed us for an entire week. I must say that I am quite pleased as I really feel that we got a lot of bang for our buck on this recipe.

I prefer my chili with sour cream, cheddar cheese, and crackers. My boyfriend is not a fan of crackers in his chili.

In the end I am happy that I made this recipe. Have I made better chili before? Yes, yes I have. I didn't feel that the directions in the cook book were enough to go on. My boyfriend and I both interpreted them differently and overall I felt the chili was a little bland before I made my changes. But, keep in mind that I spent a good deal of time of my youth in Texas and good chili was not hard to find. Overall, I'd say it is worth trying but to keep in mind that you may need to adjust the recipe to better suite your own personal tastes.

Home Away from Home: Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge

Mezmorizing. That is the only way I can describe my first experience with Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. Well, that's not exactly true. Awe-inspiring. Breathtaking. Amazing. The stuff dreams are made of. Yeah, that seems to cover it a bit better.

That's a lot of talk right? Trust me, it lives up to the hype. You see I had my eye on this resort for many years. We had even made a quick visit during the holiday season one year just so we could see if it would be worth it to stay there. Well, that and to see all the Christmas decorations. The resort did not disappoint. The lobby alone lives up to all the hype. And then some. When we booked our next trip we decided to give Animal Kingdom Lodge a try.

Our first stay had a slightly less than magical start. We were checked in by a cast member in training and she had forgotten to alert housekeeping that we had checked in. So, housekeeping didn't know to tell the front desk that our room was ready. Which meant that we had to sit in the lobby. For nearly four hours. To make the most of the time, and the super hot day, we hit up the pool for a little while and then had lunch. We explored the resort grounds, well it was more like we ran around each floor to see what kind of view each window had.

After a few hours were were tired. It was well into the afternoon, and we wanted to relax before we had to head out for dinner. So, my father and brother decided to start unpacking the car. I stayed in the lounge area by where we were told our room would be and my mom was still taking pictures of animals. This is were the head of housekeeping found me. Sleeping on a couch surrounded by luggage. As soon as he found out about our situation he immediately began working to correct it. We were in our room, which had been ready since our arrival, in less than ten minutes. He even stopped by to make sure that we were completely happy with our accommodations. A perfect example of why Disney is known for its excellent customer service.

That trip was simply amazing. We sat out on the balcony every morning and watch the giraffes eat breakfast. There were crested cranes nesting not too far from our window. We could even hear the flamingos by the pool. We discovered new hidden features of the room each day. We truly enjoyed every minute of our stay.

We loved talking with the various cast members that we encountered. Many of them were from different countries in Africa. They loved talking about their culture and asked so many questions about our hometown. Many of them were excited about using their time off to visit different parts of the United States.

By far, this is my favorite resort on property. And that is saying something.

When I say that I do also include Kidani Village, which is the DVC area of Animal Kingdom Lodge. The entire grounds, even those between the two resorts, are themed so well. I know that it is the closest I am most likely ever going to get to visiting Africa.

My family, which isn't always  open to new culinary adventures, even decided to expand their horizons. We gave Boma a try. It is now one of my favorite restaurants at Disney. Again, that is saying something. The flavors were something I had never experienced before. Some, I absolutely loved and others I can say that I have tried and most likely won't give them a go again.


Overall, I do highly recommend this resort. If staying the night will break the bank I suggest making some time to explore the grounds. The main lobby is spectacular and larger than life. If you are feeling a little adventurous make reservations for dine at one of the three restaurants on property.



Have a magical day!

Fettuccine Alfredo: A Taste of Disney

It has been too long since I had a touch of Disney magic at home. Its not been four months since I came home from my last trip and, right now, there is no future trip in the works. I am not going to lie: I'm starting to feel the pains of withdraw.

My boyfriend and I are trying to get better at planning out our meals for the week before we go grocery shopping. We are trying to get better about eating healthy and not wasting food. Both of which are going to help us out a lot. After a much too short visit home I got a new cookbook. My mom had gotten me one of the Disney cookbooks that is missing from my collection.


The start of the Italian herb bread, if only you could smell how amazing it was. Which of course was just as amazing as the chicken sautéing in olive oil.


On the long drive home I was able to look through it and do the meal planning for the next week. Nearly every recipe in the book sounded amazing and brought back memories of fantastic family vacations. It was decided. I needed to make one in the next week.

Well, being short handed at the vet hospital and still trying to balance a part time job finding the time to make anything extravagant would be difficult. Then I found it. Fettuccine Alfredo from L'Originale Alfredo di Roma Ristorante at the Italy pavilion at EPCOT.

It looked simple enough. But, yet it sounded perfect. After all, who doesn't love pasta.

To be completely honest I was a little concerned with how it would turn out since it only called for noodles, butter, and parmesan cheese. I had always thought there would be cream, most likely heavy cream, in the alfredo sauce. But, it is a Disney recipe that made it into a cookbook comprised of the most requested recipes from the Disney parks. It must be good.

The only changes that I decided to make were to add chicken and mushrooms. I also made Italian herb bread in my bread maker. I even got a bottle of wine. Yes. This was going to be an amazing dinner. I had been looking forward to making this meal for days.

I was dead tired when I got home from work. I had a 14 hour day at the vet hospital. I had been on my feet for nearly 12 hours. I wanted nothing more than to pass out in bed. But, I had dinner to put on the table. It didn't take me too long to pull myself together and get to work in the kitchen. You see, my boyfriend plays video games to unwind after work. I prefer to find peace in the kitchen.

I pealed and minced fresh garlic for the chicken and mushrooms. I got the salted water boiling. I was able to orchestrate the entire process with perfect timing. The smell was heavenly. I had made the bread the day before and set out the two sticks of butter earlier in the day so they could soften. Once the pasta was done and drained I plopped in the softest butter I have ever worked with. I'll let you in on a secret. I didn't measure the cheese. I grated the parmesan cheese directly over the pot with the noodles and butter. Well, my boyfriend grated the cheese while I tired the noodles. Once I was satisfied with the consistency I portioned out the noodles and topped them with the chicken and mushrooms.  Armed with our forks, wine, and herb bread we were ready to attack our meal.

I must say. It turned out fantastic. I even got away with enough leftovers for both of us to have lunch the next day, which is amazing. The same wasn't as saucy as I had thought it would be, but it was very tasty. It was way better than what I would have found at any American-Italian chain restaurant that's for sure.

It was a great ending to a long day. It brought just enough Disney magic back into our lives for the night. It was just what we needed. I feel that we are back on the right track. If you would like to try your hand that this amazingly simple dish you can find the recipe in Cooking With Mickey Vol 2 on page 103. Trust me, you will be glad you did.


Have a magical day!