May the Fourth Be With You (Star Wars theme night)

During the initial (2020) COVID-19 lockdown, without the stresses of commuting, after-care pickup, and traffic, there was a *little* more time to brainstorm ways to make dinner less blah/boring.

The theme nights came about through a marriage of my silly drawings, our Disney+ subscription, and the need to feed my family…and started with May 4th, celebrated by Star Wars stans worldwide and it has just kept going.

I’ll share photos and links (where relevant) to the recipes and products used so that you can create your own theme night at home! If there’s no link or separate recipe, it’s because you’re welcome to use whatever recipe you like (or, in most cases, the recipe was rubbish and I won’t waste your time with it).

1. May the Fourth Be With You (Star Wars theme night)

We are major Star Wars stans around here. Ronan’s first “real” movie in the theater was just this past holiday season, The Rise of Skywalker. So when May 4th 2020 rolled around, it was an ideal opportunity to make a fun theme dinner, watch the movie and celebrate our fandom.

The paper plates, napkins and banner came from the ‘birthday’ paper goods section at Target. I used clear plastic cups for the blue Bantha milk. I had gone looking for a Han Solo figurine to “freeze” in blue Jell-O, thereby creating a reasonable facsimile of the famous frozen image of Harrison Ford. No dice…I used canned peaches instead.

Movie: The Rise of Skywalker

Drink: Blue Bantha Milk

Entree: Severed Wampa Arm (meatloaf covered with mashed potatoes – toes made from carrots, ‘blood’ from stewed tomatoes)

Side: Tatooine Tossed Salad

Dessert: Carbonite Jell-O

My meatloaf recipe:

1 pound ground beef

Milk and panko breadcrumbs as a binder (Ronan is allergic to eggs)

Tablespoon of dried, chopped onion

Seasonings to taste: Salt, pepper, parsley, basil, oregano

Form into a loaf shape and bake at 400 until cooked through (60-70 minutes)