Sunday, February 28, 2016

Disney's Sunshine Seasons Strawberry Shortcake Recipe...





Disney's Sunshine Seasons Strawberry Shortcake Recipe



I had this recently for the very first time at Epcot & it was amazing! For that review click here:


I've been trying to eat healthy lately so my friend's birthday gave me the perfect excuse to make this as strawberry shortcake is her favorite dessert & I always make her something. I'll be honest when I first read this recipe I was a little bit overwhelmed & intimidated. I did the recipe a little bit different but will explain how in a minute. 

Yield: 12 servings 
Ingredients: 2 quarts fresh strawberries
1 sponge cake sheet (see recipe below)
1 quart whipped cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup strawberry glaze
strawberries for garnish
strawberry glaze for garnish 
Method of Preparation:
  1. Wash and dry strawberries. 
  2. Remove stems and cut in half lengthwise. 
  3. Prepare whipped cream by placing whipping cream in mixer on high speed. 
  4. Whip for 1-2 minutes. 
  5. Once cream starts to show some body, add powdered sugar and continue to whip until it forms stiff peaks. 
  6. Cut sponge cake sheet into three layers vertically. 
  7. Lay first layer of sponge inside 8 x 12 rectangular cake frame. 
  8. Top with whipped cream and strawberries. 
  9. Repeat process three times. 
  10. Remove frame and ice sides with whipped cream. 
  11. Comb top of cake and garnish with split strawberries and drizzled strawberry glaze. 
Sponge Cake:
Ingredients:3 each eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour or 1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
powdered sugar 
Method of Preparation: 
  1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. 
  2. Line pan with cooking parchment paper, aluminum foil or waxed paper. 
  3. Spray with pan spray. 
  4. Beat eggs in small bowl with electric mixer on high speed about 5 minutes or until very thick and lemon colored. 
  5. Pour eggs into medium bowl. 
  6. Gradually beat in granulated sugar. 
  7. Beat in water and vanilla on low speed. 
  8. Gradually add flour, baking powder and salt, beating just until batter is smooth. 
  9. Pour into pan, spreading to corners. 
  10. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 
  11. Immediately loosen cake from edges of pan and turn upside down onto towel generously sprinkled with powdered sugar. 
  12. Carefully remove paper. 
  13. Trim off stiff edges of cake if necessary. 
  14. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes

First off if you make the recipe exactly as this recipe reads you will need a large serrated knife in order to cut all of the layers. I do not own one so I doubled the recipe & made in 3 batches. 

I used tinfoil & used Baking Pam spray for my baking sheets

My eggs mixture after 5 minute

It should be thicker like this in consistency




I baked these 10-12 minutes each  watch CAREFULLY!

The powdered sugar to put on towel when you flip it.


Move carefully to wire rack & let rest 30 minutes



While they were cooling I cut up the strawberries. I used Costco size. 8 cups= 2 quarts

This gets REALLY high & I only ended up making 2 layers or else it wouldn't fit in my travel cake pan to take to work.



I will say that it took me 3 hours from start to finish to make this. I will say that I didn't think there were enough strawberries in this & will add more next time. I also added a little sugar & vanilla to the whipping cream recipe. I found their version to be bland. I added one teaspoon of vanilla & 2 T of granulated sugar to the whipping cream as FYI. They also failed to give a strawberry glaze recipe so I just did without it.

Please let me know if you make this & how you like it. Feel free to send me an questions or recipe requests!!!

Please feel free to send me any questions that you may have. Thank you!  yohoyohobloggerslifeforme@gmail.com

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Saturday, February 20, 2016

Knott's Berry Farm Freman's Brigade BBQ Review...

Knott's Berry Farm Freman's Brigade BBQ 


I know this isn't Disney but if you ever go to Knott's Berry Farm this will help you out! I grew up going to Knott's Berry Farm as a kid. It is a nice & clean  family amusement park about 10-15 minutes from DisneyLand. I would definitely say to try & hit up this park on your West Coast Trip. I will write a more detailed Knott's review in the near future! 

I had not been here since a kid so I did some research on the best places to eat here before our trip. You basically eat at the famous Knott's Fried Chicken Restaurant here which is right outside the entrance or this BBQ place. I noticed all of the other stands were your basic burgers & chicken finger baskets. I wanted to try something different. 


Fremont's Brigade BBQ is located in the Ghost Town section of the park. It was a little hard to find since I haven't been to the park in years but we managed to find it &I'm so glad we did! 

First off our cashier's name was Aurora & I had to tell her I loved her name being Sleeping Beauty is my favorite princess. ;) It was a little pricey BUT you are getting a lot of meat & food for your money. My husband ordered a beer. They will look at your ID & then give you an over 21 wrist band to wear for the rest of the day. Yes, a Bud was $10! 




My husband & I both ordered the ribs & I also got the corn on the cob. You could put cayenne pepper seasoning on it or a lemon pepper seasoning. We tried both but preferred the lemon pepper seasoning more. The corn takes a little longer to cook as they had a chef making them fresh! You just had to show him your receipt to get it.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much meat you got on the ribs. I was expecting not much I admit. The baked potato was also very good & fresh tasting.My husband was also very happy with our meal. I would definitely go here again. They also had 2 nice shaded areas with picnic tables to eat on. It wasn't too crowded that day so we found an area easily. 


I hope my review helps someone! : )
Please feel free to send me any questions that you may have. Thank you!  yohoyohobloggerslifeforme@gmail.com

Subscribe to my Disney Podcast ( Mousellaneous DIScussions and MousePort)on iTunes or Stitcher or listen by this link:
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Thursday, February 18, 2016

Disney's Epcot Cronut Review

Disney's Epcot Cronut Review 



You can find the cronut at Walt Disney World's Epcot park at the Refreshment Port. It is located next to the Canadian Pavilion before you get into the countries. I waited SO long to try my first one! As soon as these came out my mouth watered in anticipation! 

Pic courtesy of allures.net


I am a huge donut addict so this was right up my alley! It was a very crowded night at Epcot but the line was short so I got lucky. I will say this rivals my fave snack the carrot cake cookie which you can only find at Disney's Hollywood Studios. 
Review here: 
I couldn't decide which one I loved more when I tasted it! I was NOT expecting how messy this was! My friend's husband was nice enough to grab me a ton of napkins. I had cinnamon sugar ALL over my face but well worth it! I had no problem devouring it in minutes by myself! This is an AMAZING snack & everyone should try it at least once. I had a hard time deciding with or without ice cream. Next time I might use a fork & knife. ;)

Pic courtesy of easywdw.com

Please feel free to send me any questions that you may have. Thank you!  yohoyohobloggerslifeforme@gmail.com

Subscribe to my Disney Podcast ( Mousellaneous DIScussions and MousePort)on iTunes or Stitcher or listen by this link:
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Monday, February 15, 2016

Disney Cruise Line’s Very Merrytime Cruise Review & Pics....



Disney Cruise Line’s Very Merrytime Cruise Review & Pics



Written by: 


A Disney Cruise is magical every day of the year, but a cruise with your family over the holiday season is one of the most amazing things I have experienced from Disney, yet.   We boarded the ship on Christmas Eve for a four day Christmas holiday of presents, great food, even better entertainment, no cooking, no cleaning, and most importantly - Star Wars in 3D.

Disney Cruise Line offers these Merrytime cruises beginning in November and ending with a fireworks boom on New Year’s Eve!  The holiday cruises are delightful from the moment that you walk into the port. The gorgeous Christmas tree greets guests as they enter the port area.  Every cast member had Mickey Santa ears on and greeted us with Happy Holidays!

Once on the ship, you will be amazed at the gorgeous Christmas tree and real gingerbread house complete with a fireplace inside.  Immediately, we went to guest services to make sure to get a ticket for our family to make our own gingerbread house.


Belle was in her holiday dress greeting guests on the 4th floor.  It is rare that Belle can be found in that dress, so we were sure to get a picture. 


The first night of every Merrytime cruise gets you in the holiday spirit with the Tree Lighting Magic Ceremony.  First, a few of the cast members tell tales of their special holiday celebrations, then one family is chosen to light the tree with Mickey and his friends in this delightful show.

After dinner, we headed back to the atrium for Santa’s Winter Wonderland Ball!



This was a fun show with dancers that would give Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby a run for their money.  It had all of our favorite characters!



The best part of the night, by far, was when Elsa made it snow in the lobby atrium.  It was a perfect way to set the mood for Christmas morning!


Christmas Eve, when we returned to our stateroom, there was a note for the kids to head down to the lobby on Christmas morning to receive a gift from Santa.  The Ship Store was loaded with people buying gifts because the crew members were wrapping them for free!



At midnight on Christmas Eve, we headed to the ship’s Walt Disney Theater for Midnight Mass.  It was amazing! They also had a church service and Mass in the morning if you didn’t want to stay up late.



Christmas morning was amazing. The kids opened the gifts we had brought from the Ship’s Store and wrapped by crew members.



Then, we headed down to the lobby atrium to get the gift from Santa.  It was this adorable 2016 calendar given to all of the “kids” on board.





There were cookies, hot chocolate, and milk in the lobby atrium for the kids to enjoy while they waited to meet Santa.


Christmas night, we had the traditional Christmas dinner of turkey, stuffing, and all of the fixings.  Every restaurant was decorated for the holidays! 



It didn’t end there, though.  That night, when we returned to our stateroom, we had a special gift waiting!  I won’t spoil the surprise by telling you, but it was wonderful! 

After a full day at sea on Christmas, we woke up to a beautiful day in the Bahamas and a pirate night of festivities and fireworks at Sea!


On December 27th, we woke up to Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island in the Bahamas.  If you have never been, it is simply breathtaking.  The sea is clear and blue; unlike anything I have ever seen. There is snorkeling, bike riding, a 5K, and a BBQ with all you can eat!  It simply is the best way to spend a day!!  The decorations for Christmas were adorable from the moment you exit the ship.

We ended our last night with a final farewell.  The characters, including the princess, gave us a surprise meet ‘n greet in the lobby atrium before the show began.



The See Ya Real Soon show ended with the Christmas Carolers joining the kids on the ship in singing “Let There Be Peace on Earth”.  It was breathtaking and brought to me tears!

Disney Cruise Line offers guests more magic than you could ever imagine! Attending one of these holiday cruises gives you that magic and then some!


*Merrytime Cruises were available on various sailing dates starting November 6, 2015. 
Entertainment and characters are subject to change.

-Christine Battista, Disney and Universal Planner/Hi Ho Vacations
 christine@hihovacations.com

Please feel free to send me any questions that you may have. Thank you!  yohoyohobloggerslifeforme@gmail.com

Subscribe to my Disney Podcast ( Mousellaneous DIScussions and MousePort)on iTunes or Stitcher or listen by this link:
Follow me on Twitter at:
Please join my Disney FB Discussion Group!
Follow me on Pinterest at: 
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