Our 1st Visit to Epcot's Food & Wine Festival

 

  

Despite our many trips to Walt Disney World, last weekend was our first ever experience at Epcot's Food & Wine Festival. Mama was certainly excited! With 36 booths and only 2 half-days to visit in, there was no way we could get to every one and sample everything we wanted to. Personally, I had a very long list of food & drinks to try, and the rest of the family was pretty much just along for the ride. ;) The first night I visited several booth by myself, then the next day we toured many others as a family. The kiosks that I visited on my solitary journey are noted.

 

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All photos were taken by me. For other photos of the foods I mentioned but forgot to take pictures of can be found at www.easywdw.com and www.disneyfoodblog.com, along with their thoughts.

 

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Watermelon Juice

Terra

- Fresh Watermelon Juice * Everyone else really enjoyed this, but I found it to be a bit sweet & would just prefer to eat my watermelon.

Patagonia

*When I first looked at the menu, I wasn't sure I wanted to try anything here. However, we ended up trying two different items here & I'm certainly glad we did.

-Beef Empanada * Not overwhelmingly delicious because the flavors were a bit neutral, but the children and I found it to be tasty.

-Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Puree * This was VERY good and everyone enjoyed it! The beef was tender and juicy, G loved the Chimichurri sauce, but the boniato puree mostly just tasted like under-seasoned mashed potatoes.

Mexico

-Rib Eye Taco * This is tied as my favorite "main dish". Sadly, the hubs and I finished this off in about 4 bites before I remembered a photo! LOL Not much food for the price, but definitely delicious!

-Mango-Strawberry Margarita * I really thought I would like this, but since I rarely drink alcohol, apparently I forgot that I only like sparkling white wines and frozen mixed drinks. The big man finished this off for me and enjoyed it.

The Refreshment Cool Post

-Dulce de Leche Frozen Yogurt * Apparently this is always a choice here because this is not technically a F&W kiosk. If this is the case, we will be ordering this every time we visit Epcot! Caramel flavored ice cream on a hot day? Yes, please!

Singapore

-Lemongrass Chicken Curry with Coconut and Jasmine Rice * I'm just going to blame the alcohol and heat for me also forgetting that I don't like curry. *eye roll* So obviously I did not like this dish, everybody thought it was okay, although I seem to recall one child asking what that weird taste was...




Schinkennedeln

Germany

-Schinkennedeln Pasta Gratin with Ham and Cheese * This German version of baked mac n' cheese was fantastic. I was sad to have to share it! LOL Everyone liked it.

-Roast Bratwurst in a Pretzel Roll * This was strictly for the hubs and the kids who were interested, and the consensus was that it was just okay. He's also had the bratwurst from Sommerfest and wasn't impressed with that either. I guess when you've had the real thing in country you won't be satisfied with less.


Berliner & Bratwurst
 

-Berliner-Yeast Doughnut filled with Apricot Jam * If you like apricot jam and you like doughnuts, you will like this. I had to fight off children, particularly the one who eats apricot jam on a near daily basis & is now taller than me. *sigh* Maybe you should buy more than one if this is your dilemma as well?

Frozen "Apple Pie"

Poland

 

-Frozen Szarlotka-Apple Pie featuring Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka * A frozen cocktail that seriously tastes like apple pie. Very good!

 

Hops & Barley

-Artisan Cheese Plate: Cabot Cloth-wrapped Cheddar, Purple Haze Chevre Goat Cheese, Cave Man Blue Cheese * Nasty. The fact that this photo shows a near empty tray is surprising because I don't think anyone liked it enough to finish it off. Very disappointing.

Carrot Cake aka Deliciousness

Artisan Cheese Plate

-Florida Grass-Fed Beef Slider with Pimento Cheese * This sounded really good except for the pimento cheese that they added, so the hubs was the only one who tasted this. He said it was good; meaty and cheesy. I guess that means it was good....take it for what it's worth! LOL

-Fresh-Baked Carrot Cake with Craisins and Cream Cheese Icing * It's been over a week now since I had this, and I'm still thinking about it! Hands down the "best dessert" I tried. It was still warm, the cake was moist & the craisins were a great addition. The only complaint I would have would be that the icing was too sweet and sugary, but I don't usually like much icing or frosting on any cake. Everyone else enjoyed the icing, which I think is the only thing I let them taste. Again, buy more than one!

Morocco

*I visited this booth by myself.

-Kefta Pocket * Disappointing. The pita was too big for the one whole meatball I received as well as dry and flavorless. The meatball had okay flavor but was just too spicy. There was a slaw that had great flavor & helped to cool the heat from the meatball, but there was a tiny amount only on one side.

-Baklava * This is the item I was most anticipating. It is one of my most favorite desserts that I rarely have. So with a heavy heart I must tell you that this was THE most disappointing item at F&W. :( It had obviously been frozen and may have experienced frost bite because it tasted like paper and even the honey tasted bad. Just bad all around. Wal-Mart makes better baklava.

Belgium

Belgian Waffles & Cocada

-Belgium Waffle with Warm Chocolate Ganache and Whipped Cream * You can't go wrong with a warm waffle covered in chocolate!

-Belgium Waffle with Berry Compote and Whipped Cream * Personally, I liked this one even more than the chocolate one. However, I found myself combining the chocolate and the berries for an even tastier experience! Everybody liked both flavors.

Brazil

*I visited this booth both by myself and with my family.

Frozen Caipirinha

-Cocada-Brazilian Coconut Candy * This is basically like a huge portion of the inside of a Mounds bar, but a bit drier. Not bad, but VERY sweet & you must really like coconut to enjoy this. One kid polished this off, no problem.




-Frozen Caipirinha featuring LeBlon Cachaca * "Best Drink" in my book! It was cold, fruity & delicious. Not too sweet or strong. I would have bought another one the next day when we stopped there with my family if it wasn't $8.75!! :0


Crispy Pork Belly

-Crispy Pork Belly with Black Beans, Tomato and Cilantro * Unfortunately, my mouth was preoccupied with the waffles from Belgium when my husband ordered this, so I didn't try any. He and some of the kids agreed that it was tasty.

Ireland

*I visited this booth by myself

-Kerrygold Cheese Selection: Reserve Cheddar, Dubliner with Irish Stout, Skellig * This was SO good! Wins for "best side dish" in my tastings. It came with a fruit compote that was fantastically delicious and paired well with two strongly flavored cheeses. It was also served with bread (mine was dry) and Kerrygold butter, which is good. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture!

 

Refreshment Port

*I visited this booth by myself.

-Croissant Doughnut with Cinnamon Sugar * Again, I don't think this is limited to the Food & Wine Festival, as this is a permanent kiosk. $4.69 is a LOT for a doughnut, but it was hot & the perfect combination of croissant and doughnut. Hard to describe, but easy to eat! I will buy this again if it is always offered. Again, no picture. :(




Kalua Pork Slider & Pineapple Wine

Hawai'i

*This was the first booth I visited on my single trip around the world.

-Kalua Pork Slider with Sweet and Sour Dole Pineapple Chutney and Spicy Mayonnaise * Long name for a tiny sandwich! Having said that though, it was several bites of pure yumminess. The little bites of pineapple were nice surprising complement to the pork. Ties for "best main dish" for me!

-Maui Splash Sweet Pineapple Wine * I bought this on a whim. It was dry, fruity & tasted like pineapple. Go figure! LOL It was very good, so if you like fruity wines, try it.



 

Scotland

-Glenfiddich 15 year * Yes, my husband braved the 15-year-old scotch! He said it was good, but didn't like it warm. He's really just a Bud Light kind of guy, so this was kind of a stretch and just for fun. I'm not sure he'll be trying that again. ;)

15-year-old Scotch!

Have you ever been to Epcot's Food & Wine Festival? Have you been this year or are you planning to go? Let me know what you've tried or want to try! I still have a lot that I want to try and at this point have no plans to go back while F&W is still on.

Things I Learned This Week

It's been an interesting week, and I've learned a few things along the way that I thought might be useful to pass on.

1. If you don't know what you're having for dinner, don't eat all of your starches before dinner.

2. Please don't think that you will be able to eat 4 cups of vegetables for dinner because you didn't bother to eat them at any other time during the day.

3. If you're craving something sweet, do not buy 2 bags of "fun size" candies because it's more economical. It may be more economical for your wallet, but not your waistline.

4. If you are an occasional drinker of "Dunkaccinos" (which is basically just chocolate & coffee flavored sugar and powdered creamer), and even if you sometimes get the "Turbo Shot", do not suddenly start drinking four cups of coffee per day. Eventually, your body will revolt.

5. When you combine multiple "fun size" candies from Lesson #3 & your third and fourth cups from Lesson #4 on the same day, at roughly 2:30 in the afternoon, several things happen.

Suddenly you just don't feel so great. You realize that it might be from your heart racing. Or from the sudden blood sugar spike. Or from the pounding headache. Maybe from the upset stomach. It could, of course, be a combination of all these things, but you're not really sure because you can't seem to concentrate on one thing long enough to make a decision.

One of your children will come to ask you a school-related question, but end up asking you if you've been eating sugar. Then she stays for the show.

What show you ask? The one that you seem to be the star of because you can't sit still or stop laughing about everything. The music in your head makes you dance. Professional comedians have nothing on you.

Then, of course, comes the fallout. Your heart will still be racing and your head will still be pounding, but your blood sugar will drop & you will need to eat some actual food. However, you were so busy being silly that you forgot to make dinner. So you order pizza. Uh-huh. In your delirious state, you aren't thinking about the fact that it's more starchy carbs, just that it sounds tasty & you don't have to think about preparing it.

Your husband may or may not use the word "detox" on multiple occasions.

Sleeping is sort of a joke. But you knew that was coming, right? YOU are more sensible than I am! What you may not be aware of is just how long the effects last. It's at least a day. Maybe a little more. All of the bad side effects without all the funny business.

6. You are never too old to learn something new. I learned how to diagram prepositional phrases!

Change that "He" to a "She" & it would be so on point for this week!

Did you learn anything this week?

Jenny, aka

Meet the Grogman Family!

Meet the Grogman Family!

My name is Janet Grogman (Beasley).  I have never written a blog before, so I hope you find this adventure with me delightful and encouraging.   

My family and I currently live in Woodbridge, VA.  It is just 20 miles outside of Washington, DC.  Which I must say, the scenery is very beautiful out here and I am currently enjoying the east coast in this season of my life.

I am military wife to a wonderful husband, Daniel.  I love being a military spouse.  We have been married for 15 years this August and have 2 beautiful girls.  Alecia who is 14 years already ready to drive and take the world on with every step she takes.  Madison, she is 12 but will be 13 in August.  She is very informative and outgoing, always has to be doing something :).  I learn something new each and every day from raising these 2 teenagers.

I am prior military myself, and while in the military is where I met my amazing Husband (a story for another time it could take years to tell, lol).  But in the military is where I found my things I enjoy most: traveling, seeing new things, and meeting new people.  I am proud to be a military wife to be able to still do the things that I love.  The down side of being in the military though is that we are not close to family.  So seeing our nieces and nephews in person is sometimes challenging.  I still have a niece out there that one day I have yet to meet but rest assured, I will make it out to Montana to see your sweetness!  But thank goodness for our life saver Skype and Facetime that keeps our families able to see each other and see each other more often.

As a family we enjoy traveling and have always try and see new places each year.  Our family keeps that part easy for us since they are living all over.  Last year we went to Florida to spend Christmas with my brother.  This summer we are going to be able to spend a week in California.  One day I hope to go and visit my brother in Alaska.  Not sure I would stay a long period because I do like warmth.  And last time I looked on a map there was not a beach near by LOL.  

Thank you for taking time to read this, and I look forward to sharing our adventures together.


Sissy "SIL" Beaz

My Favorite Breakfast

Today I wanted to share with you my new favorite breakfast,

Greek yogurt with berries!

 

Please pardon the poor quality of my pics, they straight off my phone without editing! :O

So exciting, right? Okay, maybe not so much, but it is delicious & I find myself fixing it nearly every morning these days. I've been following a new eating & exercise plan called the 21 Day Fix. I seriously love it because it has totally changed the way I think about food.

Technically, you're supposed to be able to close the lid, but these are frozen. If they were fresh or defrosted the lid would close! ;)

The program comes with these adorable little containers that you originally think "That's it?", but end up saying, "Wow, that's a lot more than I thought!" LOL 

 

 

See? Way more than you thought, right?

I like mostly raspberries with 3 strawberries for sweetness. Then I sprinkle about 1/4tsp. coconut sugar on top & pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Haven't tried coconut sugar yet? You should! It looks and tastes almost like brown sugar & it doesn't affect your blood sugar levels the way that regular sugar does. That's important for diabetics like me.

 

 

While the berries are heating up, I fill up my little red protein cup with plain, non-fat greek yogurt. I don't want any artificial coloring or flavorings, chemicals, or any added sodium or sugars added to my food, so I always choose the plain, non-fat. I buy the big tub of it at Wal-Mart for around $4.

 

 



 

 

When the berries are finished, stir them up a bit as the juices will have come out & break up the strawberries into bite size pieces. Mix in all the yogurt until it's completely blended. It will be a little soupy, but that just means you could drink it if you needed to take it to go. Feel free to top it with a few of your berries to make it look prettier! Throw it in the fridge to let the flavors marry while you go workout, then treat your sweaty self to a delicious breakfast that will help your muscles repair after your workout & fuel your body for the rest of the day! ENJOY!

 

Jenny aka



Meet Jenny!

Hey everybody! I'm Jenny & I started this blog several years ago as a place to share pictures and stories of the kids with the grandparents. You may already know all about me, but here's the rundown: I'm a Christian, a wife, & a homeschooling mom of 4. The hubs & I just celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary!

My kids are J (14), G (12), K (8), and E (6). Each child was born in a different state due to the ARMY and my husband's job. They drive me insane on a daily basis, but I love them to death! LOL Right now we are homeschooling, but this always seems to be in flux. Whatever works for us at different seasons is what we do. We should probably stick to one thing, but ADD seems to run in the family. :)

This is our cute & crazy family at our favorite place on earth! Since we currently reside in Florida, we have season passes to Walt Disney World and visit as often as we can. Doing things together is our favorite family hobby.

 

I never seem to stick to just one hobby, so I'm usually all over the place. However, I do enjoy cooking & baking, sewing, crafts, reading and playing on the computer. I do not enjoy housework of any type. LOL

Jenny   aka



The All-New-and-Totally-Improved Beaz Hive Blog!

Hey everybody, welcome to The Beaz Hive! This used to be my little corner to blog about my family and whatever else, but I admit that it has been sadly neglected in the past few years. If you've been one of my loyal readers (thank you to all 7 of you!), then you'll know that I struggled greatly with the identity of the blog. What should it really be about? What should I write about? How do I get more readers? Perhaps you can relate. I was really at a loss & pretty much just gave up.

A few months ago, I had an idea to revive this blog & give it new purpose. It took me a while to figure it all out and then convince the others to join me. Others, you say? What others? Yes, others! LOL It occurred to me that I didn't have to go it alone, and I just happened to have 4 other women who could bring their voices to the Beaz Hive. You may have already guessed that the Beaz Hive is so named because our last name is Beasley. :) These other 4 women are Beasley's too, either by birth or by marriage. We are all wives, mothers and either are or were in the ARMY or married to a soldier.

The way I see it, we all have something to contribute that might be of encouragement or help to someone else. We share some commonalities but are all very different women, from very different backgrounds. There is no set schedule or focus to what we will be posting, but rather a focus on sharing stories, recipes, praises, prayers, and words of encouragement. Hopefully you will get to know us & our families better. At the very least, this blog will serve as a record of the Beasley family.

We sincerely hope that you will be blessed, encouraged or entertained by our blog & enjoy stopping by often. Stay tuned as each one of us introduce ourselves & our families!

Jenny (Queenbeaz)

So, it's been awhile...

Just when I think I'm going to get back into the swing of blogging, life gets in the way. This is why I can't be a professional blogger. You have to be able to roll with the punches and work through the crazy times. That, and writing about more than just your fantastically adorable kiddos!

Since I last checked in:

My mother came to visit for Christmas.

My husband's sister, her husband & their two girls came for almost a week for Christmas.

We hosted a "Holiday Potluck" that involved good food, good friends, an ambulance and a police officer.

My baby turned 6.

My mom left after a 3 week visit.

One of my very best friends passed away suddenly.

My other "baby" turned 8.

We moved. Again. For the 5th time in 3 years.

I just haven't felt liking blogging. I hope you understand. Hopefully, I will get back into the blogging groove soon.