I hosted a girl’s night tonight in honor of the Academy Awards! It was great fun! My punny foods were a hit and everyone left with a movie themed swag bag!

Because I wanted to enjoy the party, I tried to keep the cooking and prep to a minimum. I used a lot of store-bought items and made a few things that I couldn’t find or thought were too processed. Read on to see how I pulled it all together!

I found these free printables here from Gwynn Wasson Designs. I love the color scheme and how the Oscar statuette is incorporated into the design!

I filled swag bags with bottles of Coca Cola, movie candy like Twizzlers, Milk Duds, Whoppers, Raisinettes and Goobers, microwave popcorn, peanuts, Jelly Bellys and Cracker Jacks. They were decorated with foam glitter stars from Target. That’s where I picked up the bags, too. I printed up a ballot (they can be found all over the internet) and had my guests complete it during the red carpet show. The winner went home with a $25 AMC movie theater gift certificate.

The Girl with the Dragon Fondue: I used two packets of the prepared fondue from Trader Joe’s. You can find it in the cheese section in a box. It doesn’t look like the most appetizing stuff when you’re squeezing the cheese from the pouch, but once it’s melted, it’s quite delicious. I picked up a bag of broccoli florets and haricot vert and steamed them. I also bought  a bag of baby carrots, three peppers (red, yellow, orange), and some celery that was cut into sticks.

The Artist’ian Bread: I bought a loaf of rosemary bread and sour dough bread from Trader Joe’s and cut them into bite-sized cubes along with a few honey crisp apples and bosc pears.

Tinker Tailor Sausage Spy: These were Chicken Apple sausages from Trader Joe’s grilled whole and then cut into bite-sized pieces. They were great on their own or dipped in the cheese!

Midnight in Pear’is Tarte: This was from the frozen food section at Trader Joe’s. Ten minutes in the oven and done.

Minnie’s “Terrible Awful” Chocolate Pie (sans “secret ingredient”): I couldn’t find a pie that wasn’t filled with crap like high fructose corn syrup and tons of preservatives, so I searched the internet for Minnie’s Pie and found the one  I linked to. I was skeptical because it did not call for flour and only filled up the crust half-way. But I followed the recipe plus the additional tips in the comments (including a pinch of salt, extra chocolate and baking it longer)  and it got rave reviews, even if it looked a little funky right out of the oven. Nothing a little whipped cream couldn’t help!

The Decendips:
War Horseradish Hummus: I was all set to pick up a tub of this at Trader Joe’s. A quick internet search showed that they carried (at one time) a Horseradish Hummus. Apparently it is either discontinued or my TJs doesn’t carry it. Instead I bought a tub of their original hummus and stirred in two tablespoons of prepared horseradish. Easy peasy. I linked to a recipe that was my back up in case the short-cut didn’t work. I am sure it is yummy.

Billy Beane Dip: I knew with the light colored hummus that I wanted to do a black bean dip. A quick search on the internet yielded this recipe. I had pretty much everything on hand, so it was a quick whizz in the processor and done.

Eggstremely Loud and Incredibly Delicious Deviled Eggs: I bought a bag of hard-boiled, peeled eggs at Trader Joe’s and mixed up the yolk filling with a little mayo, relish and mustard. A sprinkle of paprika finished them off. I loved not having to peel a dozen eggs!

I bought three bags of the “Movie Popcorn” from Trader Joe’s and filled up some popcorn boxes that I picked up at Target. The candy is from my most recent Foodzie box delivery. It was all movie night related in honor of the Academy Awards. Fun!

The Gin & Tin Tin Tonic was one part Bombay Sapphire and two parts tonic. I had ice and lime slices for garnish.

Not pictured:  The Tea of Life Iced Tea which was made from two Green Tea tea bags and two spiced herbal tea bags. I steeped the bags in hot water to make a tea concentrate and then added ice and water to the pitcher before service. Crazy Stupid Punch which was so delicious. I followed this recipe and doubled it. I stored the extra punch in the apple juice containers.

All in all, I was happy that I didn’t try to make everything and that I used shortcuts where appropriate. I was really pleased that I was done in the kitchen by the time my first guest arrived. This allowed me to have a drink and enjoy my friends without the hassle of being in the kitchen all night.