Disney Magic at Home with Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Banana French Toast from Disney’s PCH Grill

Do you look at those amazing recipes from the theme parks or food bloggers coming out right now and laugh knowing you will never attempt it? If that describes you, then we are kindred spirits.

I look at them thinking I would love to make that and then begin reading. Piping bag and large star tip? Nope. Don’t have those. Ramekins and a butane blow torch? I may have those around here somewhere… and what on earth is a gelatin sheet and how would I go about getting one in the middle of a stay-at-home order when my grocery store doesn’t even have hamburger?

So, when I saw the Disney Parks Blog Post about the Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Banana French Toast from Disney’s PCH Grill, I almost kept scrolling. Almost. Then I realized that other than the challah bread, I already had everything I needed to make it.

First, I did not get challah bread. It’s not easy to find near me, however, our local WalMart did have a beautiful loaf of uncut French bread so I used that instead. Also, I’m too impatient to wait for day old bread so I cut it up and dried it in my oven. I literally cut it up into the 1″ pieces and threw it in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes. This way it was dry enough to soak up all the yummy wet ingredients.

Other than that, I followed the recipe. I filled a bowl with the bread pieces, 2 sliced bananas, and 1/4 cup chocolate chips. My mixing bowl barely held it all!

 

 

 

Then, I put 6 eggs, 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, 3/4 cup lowfat chocolate milk, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in my blender and blended it until smooth.

 

 

 

 

I poured the liquid from my blender into the bowl with my dry ingredients and stirred gently. I also let it sit for a few minutes to allow the liquid to soak into the bread (thanks, Food Network!) and then stirred gently a little more. Then, I poured the mixture into a 9 x 13 baking pan that I had already sprayed with olive oil cooking spray. Finally, I popped in my oven that was preheated to 350 degrees.

 
After 35 minutes, this is what I took out of the oven.

This is what Disney’s looks like in their blog post.

Pretty close, I think. Regardless, it tasted amazing and will make a great breakfast or dessert addition in my house.

Want to make it yourself? Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 8 thick slices day-old challah bread (I substituted French bread and dried it in oven)
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips (I used regular size, but it appears Disney uses mini)
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 6 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup low-fat chocolate milk
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Chocolate syrup and powdered sugar, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9x13x2-inch baking pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2. Cut bread into 1-inch cubes and place in a large bowl. Slice bananas into 1/2-inch slices, and add to bowl. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Combine peanut butter, eggs, chocolate milk, cinnamon, and salt in a blender. Process until smooth.
4. Pour egg mixture over bread mixture. Stir gently until bread cubes have absorbed egg mixture.
5. Pour mixture into prepared baking pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until top is golden brown.
6. Before serving, drizzle with chocolate syrup and dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

Thanks, Disney, for allowing us to cook up some of the Disney Magic at home!

 

Disney Blog Post – https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2020/04/disneymagicmoments-cooking-up-the-magic-at-home-chocolate-peanut-butter-banana-french-toast-from-disneys-pch-grill/

 

Disneyland Raised Prices Again – How Bad Is It?

Disneyland raised their ticket prices again yesterday and with it came the inevitable complaints. It seemed like I couldn’t go anywhere on social media without seeing comments about Disney’s “greed” or that they’re pricing average families out of being able to visit the parks. It does appear that this is one of Disney’s highest increases in recent history, but just how bad is it? I decided to do a little price checking.

Celebrating Halloween Disney Style – Disneyland Resort

I’ll bet when you think of ghouls and goblins and all things Halloween, Disney is not what first comes to mind, but the U.S. Disney Parks and Disney Cruise Line really know how to throw a Halloween party! My family has been fortunate to visit Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland Resort, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World Resort, and Halloween on the High Seas on Disney Cruise Line. When my son was little, I knew it was a great safe way for him to dress up and go trick-or-treating. Plus, it was fun rather than scary. Now that he’s older, I have to admit we still trick-or-treat, but we are also able to enjoy the festivities in a different way.

To do these amazing parties justice, rather than try to fit them all into one post, I’m splitting into a three-part series. Last week, I focused on Disney Cruise Line. This week, it’s the Disneyland Resort in California.

When Your Tween is “Bored” with the Disney Parks

“But I don’t want to go to Walt Disney World!”

I’d love to say that no parent has ever heard that, but not only have I heard that, I know of others who have as well. It seems to hit around the Tween/early Teen years. My own son decided that he didn’t want to go to Walt Disney World a couple of years ago – around age 11. He’s also wishy-washy about Disneyland. What’s a Disney-loving parent to do? I’m sharing our tried and true ways to get our Tween (now Teen) to go.

Let him or her bring a friend – If you can afford it and your child has a friend whose parents are agreeable, the Disney Parks for Tweens and Teens are way more fun with a friend to hang out with. I had to face the fact that my child was getting older and hanging out with mom and dad just isn’t cool. OK. By bringing a friend (or sometimes a cool cousin will work), he was able to save his “cool factor,” and show someone around who hadn’t been to the parks as often as he had.

Highlight new attractions – For our son, the biggest draw for our upcoming trip is Pandora – The World of Avatar in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Since my husband and I have already experienced them, we were able to give a first-hand account of them, but even if we hadn’t, a little research would have told us what we needed to know. Our son is excited to ride Avatar Flight of Passage. He also can’t wait to see the new missions at Mission: SPACE at Epcot. All this finally convinced him that a few days at Walt Disney World Resort®, his parents might not be so bad.

Compromise on time with family – Our son has been staying home alone for a little while now. While I’m not crazy about leaving him alone in a hotel room, we do if we aren’t going to be far or gone a long time. For example, we might let him stay in the room if we’re going to one of the resort’s restaurants for dinner. He’s also been allowed to stay in our room at the Disney’s Beach Club Resort while we were close by at Epcot’s World Showcase. If we’re going further, we got someone from Kids Nite Out to stay with him (we didn’t call it her a babysitter). All of this depends on your child and your comfort level, but we found that our child appreciated time to hang out in the room alone on his phone with friends or playing video games. We are giving him his “me time.”

If all else fails, it might be OK to leave your Tween at home. On a recent trip to Walt Disney World Resort®, we gave our son the option of going or staying with family or friends elsewhere. He chose the family or friends. At first, I wasn’t thrilled about it, but it turned out to be a lovely trip. Yes, I missed my son but having the freedom to focus on my husband (we have no other children) and do what we wanted to do was wonderful, and that’s OK. It’s OK for you to take a trip with another child. Your Tween may be thrilled to have the time with family or friends and your other child or children may love having special time with mom and dad. I found that it also worked well when it came time for the next trip. He didn’t like missing out on what we did; he wanted to go.

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For more ideas on what to skip at the Disney Parks,
check out the other great posts from the Blogorail!

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Ears with Interchangeable Bows Unveiled at the D23 Expo (and how to win a set before they’re released at the Disney Parks)

New ears were unveiled at the Dream Store at the D23 Expo last weekend. The Interchangeable Bow Collection features a starter set with a black-and-silver “Minnie” polka dot bow. The bow has a clip making it easily removable from the headband ears and other bows can be purchased. Personally, I liked the softness of the headband and ears. They are covered in a velvety fabric.