Disney Movie Night: Planes

Planes is one of my youngest's favorite movies.  He has been begging for a Planes movie night for a while now, so I thought, why not?

What do you make that goes with Planes?  I was stumped.  I did some searching on the internet, and while the idea of plane shaped sandwiches is cute, it doesn't really live up to my expectations for movie night.  So, I had to do some thinking.

If you've seen the movie, you know that Dusty Crophopper is racing in the Wings Around the Globe. This race stops in various countries around the world...which gave me my inspiration for tonight's menu!

For our dinner this evening we had:

- Pork Potstickers, representing China.  I love dumplings, wontons, anything like that.  I'd never made potstickers before, and these got a little dark on the bottom, but they were super tasty!

- Apple Halwa, representing India.  India was hard.  I needed something the kids would actually eat.  Plus, I seem to have a curry allergy (I've only made curry once, and I broke out in a horrible itchy rash - I'd rather not risk that again!).  So, when I came across a recipe for apple halwa, I thought it sounded like a winner.  It was!  The kids loved it!

- Pretzel Rolls, representing Germany.  I considered sauerkraut, but the kids won't touch it.  Pretzel rolls sounded fun, and boy were they tasty!  I dipped mine in some Boetje's mustard...mmmm!

- Root Beer, representing the United States.  I know, there were probably better choices, but it sounded good!  We went local and got Millstream, made right here in Iowa.

- Flan, representing Mexico.  I've never made a flan before, but we really like flan, so I gave it a try.  It turned out OK, but not great.

All in all, just like Dusty Crophopper, this meal was a winner!

Disney Movie Night: Emperor's New Groove

It's an oldie, but a...well, an oldie.

Can you believe I've never seen Emperor's New Groove?  Or, I hadn't.  Until tonight.  In a search for movies we haven't seen yet, I decided we needed to give this one a try.  For our dining pleasure this evening, I decided to try my hand at Peruvian cuisine.  I've never eaten Peruvian food, let alone cooked it, so I had to do some research.

For dinner, we had Sweet & Spicy Beef Empanadas, Arroz Chauffa (rice with salami and pineapple), and Roasted Root Vegetables (beets, carrots, and turnips).  They were pretty good.  I was concerned about the rice.  I mean, salami and pineapple?  But it was yummy!  The empanadas were pretty spicy, so the kids didn't really like them, and I've never been a big fan of beef and cinnamon.  But they were OK.  The vegetables were good.

For dessert, I made Picarones.  These are sweet potato and pumpkin donuts.  Again, I was skeptical.  But they were actually good!  The donuts weren't overly sweet, but the powdered sugar on top was a nice complement.

Disney Movie Night: Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins has been on my mind a lot lately.  I've been wanting to go see Saving Mr. Banks; I just haven't had time yet.  And the Walt Disney exhibit is at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago right now.  I'm trying to figure out when we can go see that as well.  Plus, I'm working on early plans for our next Disney World trip and one of the meals I've been contemplating is breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, which includes Mary Poppins as one of the characters.  So, naturally, Mary Poppins was our movie for tonight!

When I was trying to come up with a menu for tonight, there were only a few obvious choices from the movie.  Cakes and tea?  Not really supper food.  Fish (that is what they were going to buy when they got sidetracked to Uncle Albert's)...I'm allergic.  Hmmm...what to do?

So, I decided to go with a menu based more on the location of the movie than movie references itself.     I found a recipe for the Guinness Stew they serve at the Rose and Crown at the UK Pavilion in Epcot, so I went with that.  I know...Irish.  But, it's close.  And delicious!!  I decided on scones for a side.

For dessert, I went back to the Rose and Crown.  Sticky toffee pudding.  The kids response?  "That's not pudding!  It's cake!"  My response?  "Heaven on a plate!"  I'm a sucker for toffee.

This was a great movie night, and one of my all-time favorite Disney classics!

Disney Movie Night: The Little Mermaid

Disney Movie nights have become a highlight of our family time over the last year.  We were doing one about every 3-4 weeks before our car accident in October.  Then I just didn't feel up to being very creative.  But, now that I'm doing better, we are getting back to it!

So, tonight's movie was The Little Mermaid, which Grace got for her Christmas movie.  She's always said Ariel was her favorite Disney princess, but she hadn't seen the movie!  She did love meeting Ariel at Walt Disney World, though!

Along with watching the movie, Disney Movie Night has to have a special thematic dinner.  I have to admit, I can't get many health points for my movie night dinners.  But, the kids have fun with them, and they go with the movie!

Tonight's dinner consisted of:

• Ursula Dogs - hot dogs with one end cut into 8 sections.  When you boil them, the sections curl up and they look like octopi...just like Ursula!
• Goldfish crackers - to represent....fish?
• Berry Blue Jell-o - for the ocean

And for dessert:

Oyster cookies with a marshmallow pearl!  These were made from Pepperidge Farms Coconut cookies, a little blue frosting, and a mini marshmallow.

Next up on our movie night watching list...Mary Poppins!