Bringing World Showcase to my Kitchen

I've been missing wdw a lot lately. I usually find that around this time of year I miss warm weather, being on vacation, and that warm and fuzzy Disney feeling. I think it has to do with being smack in the middle of winter, being in-between vacations and now that the holidays are over I'm not getting my warm and fuzzy feeling anymore from anything. Luckily I have some ways of coping with my Disney withdrawal depression. One way is through my Twitter friends. I love how there is always atleast one person in the parks and a multitude of friends who wouldn't mind talking Disney with me. Another way Adam and I like to get through it is it bring alittle world showcase to us! One of our favorite world showcase pavilions is Germany. It is tradition that we always get the bratwurst and sauerkraut with an ice cold German beer! We thought it would be fun to try our hand at it! I am happy to report that this recipe is not only pretty easy but its rather tasty as well!

BRATWURST WITH SAUERKRAUT AND APPLES

6 slices bacon 1 sm. onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 (32 oz.) can sauerkraut, drained and rinsed 2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced 1 c. water 1/2 c. dry white wine - apple juice, or apple juice 1 tbsp. brown sugar 1 tsp. instant chicken bouillon 1 tsp. caraway seed 1 bay leaf 1 lb. bratwurst 1 lg. apple, cored and sliced Cook bacon in large skillet until crisp. Crumble; set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons dripping. Cook onion and garlic in dripping. Stir in sauerkraut, potatoes, water, white wine or apple juice, brown sugar, dry bouillon, caraway seed, and bay leaf. Add more water, if needed. Score bratwurst. Add to mixture. Cover. Simmer 1 - 1 1/4 hours until potatoes are tender. Add apple. Cook until tender. Remove bay leaf. Serves 5.

While its not exactly what you'd find at Epcot its close enough! Definitely brought back some good memories, and cooking with Adam is always a fun mini adventure. What do you do in-between vacations to help get you through?? Xoxo

OOPA!

Brrrr!!!

It is so cold here today! I don't think I felt warm at all today, no matter how many layers I put on. I'm thinking as soon as I end this post my new electric heating blanket and I will spend some quality time together. I think that blanket was one of my best gifts from Adam this year!

When it gets this cold I like to cook dinners that will warm me up from the inside. I always have enjoyed a delicious soup, not that campbell's stuff in a can, but a nice home cooked, not full of sodium soup. When I was younger, and a poor college kid, I used to waitress. I made great fast cash and it fit with my class schedule quite nicely. One of the best places I worked was at a family owned and operated Greek restaurant. Being a foodie who loves to try new ethnic cuisine (remember I purposely picked my Disney wedding date to coincide with Epcot's food and wine festival) I developed a new love for all things Greek! My favorite quick snack before a shift on a cold night was a steamy hot bowl of Avgolemono soup. Avgolemono soup is a thick, lemon, chicken soup. It reminds me of American chicken noodle soup, just with more pizzaz! It is a favorite in my household and recently I brought some left overs into work and my coworker loved it.

Unfortunately I did not get the recipe from the restaurant that I worked at. But this recipe that I use from Closet Cooking is almost identical. If you're looking for a yummy, warm you from the inside out soup, this is definitely something I'd recommend trying out.  It's pretty simple and I'd love to hear what you think of it!

Ingredients:
8 cups chicken stock
1 cup chicken (cooked, shredded)
1 cup orzo
1 onion (chopped)
2 carrots (chopped)
2 stalks celery (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs
2 lemons (juice)
1 handful dill (chopped)

Directions:
1. Place the chicken stock, chicken, orzo, onion, carrots, celery, oregano, salt and pepper into a pot.
2. Bring the soup to a boil and simmer until the vegetables are tender and the orzo is cooked, about 10-12 minutes.
3. Take the pot off the heat.
4. Whisk the eggs in a bowl until frothy.
5. Whisk in the lemon juice.
6. Slowly whisk in some of the liquid from the soup to temper the eggs.
7. Mix the avgolemono sauce into the soup.
8. Stir in the dill and serve.


I totally spaced out about taking a picture of the finished soup and at the moment its all gone...#bloggerfail!  I promise in the future I will remember to take pictures before we inhale whatever I've made. But if you want to see what the soup should look like all done click on the link to Closet Cooking :)


xoxo