Dinner and a Movie—Minions Family Movie Night!

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Hey party peeps! The day has finally come—one of the kids’ favorite movies of the year has just been released December 8th on Blu-Ray/DVD at Target—Minions© 2015 Universal Studios. All rights reserved. My son was still a little too young to see this movie when it was in the movie theatre, so the DVD release is a BIG DEAL in our house as it really is a premiere for him and he LOVES minions! We are celebrating with DINNER AND A MOVIE—MINIONS FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT! I’d love to share all the details of our movie night party and hope you are inspired to host a Minions Movie Night party for your family.

HOW DID SHE DO THAT?

The first thing I did was head to Target the day the movie released! They have this super cool Blu-Ray/DVD Metalpak only available at Target that I just had to have. It would serve as the perfect invitation to announce to my family at breakfast that morning what that night’s movie would be for our Friday movie night. I placed the DVD on the counter with Kevin (my son’s favorite minion) along with minions t-shirts for them to wear. PLUS the exclusive Blu-Ray DVD Metalpak also includes three additional mini movies AND another 40 minutes of exclusive new content! The older kids who saw the Minions movie in the theater were particularly excited to see the new mini movies. PLUS the Illumination Entertainment’s Minions movie Metalpak also includes a digital copy which for me is a lifesaver as my youngest son will want to watch it OVER AND OVER AND OVER and now he can from any of our devices. Come on…am I the only Mom who thinks that this concept is amazing?!

SET THE SCENE FOR A MINIONS PARTY—DENIM AND YELLOW!

Of course, when designing a Minions party, the main color is yellow! I used minions toys that I found at TARGET to decorate with. Target actually had a 4-pack of minions character toys (exclusive to Target) that were perfect to use as decor as they stand up by themselves and were easy to display on my party tables. The minions are known for their denim overalls, so why not use denim as a main design element in decorating your party space! Using the color yellow with the denim is obvious, I know. I love how the yellow pops against the denim and really sets the scene. I used denim table linen and boxes to decorate with and also carried it through to the dinner table by placing the utensils inside actual denim pockets and sat them on top of bright yellow paper plates. FABULOUS!

GIRLFRIEND TIP: If you’re like me, and have little kids at home, you know how rough they can be on their jeans. When they are full of holes and tears and you’re ready to throw them away…WAIT….before you do, cut out the pockets from jeans first! You can use them in a variety of party setups from tween/teen parties to a minions party!

SERVE A MINIONS-INSPIRED DINNER!

Minions Yellow Rice and “Bee-do” Black Bean Fajitas are on the menu for this Minions family dinner and movie night. Super easy to make and the kids love it! My grandmother is Cuban and has served her famous yellow rice and black beans at all of our family holiday dinners since I can remember. I have always loved them! To continue this tradition, I have adapted her recipe to make it faster—YES…I use a boxed rice mix and canned black beans…not what my grandmother does, but hey…a busy mama’s gotta take some shortcuts right? The kids love them and I now make it for them year-round. One of their favorite dishes are fajitas with yellow rice and black beans served buffet style so they can assemble their own fajitas. To make their favorite dish even more fun, I called them down to dinner and told them we are having minions rice & “Bee-do” bean fajitas for dinner, displayed the minions toys by the serving dishes and wrapped the tortillas with minions goggles. They thought that was HILARIOUS! Particularly, my son who doesn’t call them minions…he says, “Mommy, I want to watch the Bee-do movie!” Too funny! Want to serve this at your Minions Movie Night? See below for the recipe.

GIRLFRIEND TIP: You can also serve this dish without the tortilla and simply serve them as fajita bowls. This is personally how I like to eat them. Apparently, this little minion does too!

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
– 2 cans of black beans
– 1 family sized yellow rice boxed mix
– 1/2 tsp garlic powder
– 1/2 of 1 habanero pepper
– 1 bunch of fresh cilantro
– 1 pack of boneless chicken breasts (cut into bite-sized pieces)
– 2 green peppers, 2 red peppers, 1 onion
– 2 fajita spice packets
– olive oil
– salt & pepper
– 1 family sized pack of Market Pantry 6-inch flour tortillas

HERE’S HOW TO MAKE THEM:

STEP 1: Make the yellow rice according to the box directions. The rice will take 25 minutes to cook.

STEP 2: Chop 1/2 of the habanero pepper into tiny pieces. This pepper is HOT so be careful NOT to touch your eyes after cutting these. The hotness of the pepper will not be over-powering in the beans, so don’t worry about it being too spice. The key is to make sure the dice on the pepper is tiny so the flavor gets into the sauce of the beans and not in big chunks. Continue chopping a handful of cilantro into small pieces. (Be sure to remove the cilantro leaves from their stems before you chop them)

STEP 3: Pour 2 cans of black beans (unstrained) into a pot and add the garlic powder, diced habanero pepper and handful of cilantro. Heat on medium until boiling then turn the heat to a simmer. These can continue to cook on simmer until the rest of the dish is done but be sure to stir them up frequently to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

STEP 4: Cut up the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and add them to a heated skillet with enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Cook the chicken until done then transfer the chicken from the pot to a bowl.

STEP 5: Chop the green and red peppers and onion into strips and add them to the same skillet you cooked the chicken in with more olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add a pinch of salt and cook the vegetables on medium heat until they are soft.

STEP 6: Add the chicken back to the pan with the peppers and onions and add 1/2 cup of water and both fajita spice packets to the pan. Stir to coat the chicken and veggies with the spice mix and heat on low (uncovered) for 10 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent sticking to the pan.

STEP 7: Wrap a stack of tortillas with damp paper towels and microwave them for 30 seconds to warm them up.

STEP 8: Serve the rice, beans and chicken/peppers in separate dishes to allow your family to assemble their own fajitas.

MINIONS MOVIE SNACK BAR!

What’s a movie without popcorn, right? You can add a minions-themed twist to serving popcorn simply by serving them in small denim paper bags! I know…super cool! The kids loved filling their bags with the popcorn I had already popped and had ready to serve from my tabletop popcorn maker that I use for all our movie nights! Round out the snack table with minions snacks like minions Bob lollipops and minions fruit snacks.

GIRLFRIEND TIP: Use your candy to help decorate your table! I decorated the snack table with clear tubes filled with yellow gumballs that can serve as a take home favor as well as add a cool decor element to the table!

SERVE KEVIN’S BANANA SMOOTHIES!

Before the movie starts, the kids made their own banana smoothies to have with their popcorn and snacks. They absolutely LOVE making smoothies. They can make them by themselves simply by adding bananas, milk, ice and a banana smoothie packet to the blender and blend until smooth. Keeping with the party’s color palette, serve the smoothies with yellow paper straws and you can even offer cool toppings like whipped cream and crushed vanilla wafer cookies.

HAVE YOU HOSTED A MINIONS MOVIE NIGHT PARTY? WHAT COOL IDEAS DO YOU HAVE?

Happy Holidays!
Tonya

WANT MORE MINIONS PARTY INSPIRATION?

Be sure to check out the Minions movie website for lots more ideas! There is even a MINIONS PARTY PLANNER tool to help you plan the perfect minions party! And be sure to head to Target to pick up the cool Blu-Ray/DVD Metalpak and mostly everything you’ll need to host your own Minions movie night party!

CLICK HERE to check out my Minions Pinterest board  for LOTS of inspiration and ideas.

Follow Soiree Event Design’s board Minions on Pinterest.

*****

– Styling & Photography: Soiree Event Design
– Minions movie Blu-Ray/DVD Metalpak, minions toys, minions candy and fruit snacks, smoothie ingredients, paper plates: Target
– Yellow gumballs: Candy Warehouse

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