ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE

** A Geek Daddy received the featured products for free **

We enjoyed a nice family movie night this weekend watching the newest animated movie in the ICE AGE franchise called COLLISION COURSE which became available on October 11, 2016 for Blu-ray and DVD viewing.  In this ICE AGE adventure, the unlucky, mischievous squirrel Scrat while trying to bury an acorn accidentally activates an abandoned alien vessel that launches him into outer space.  As he travels through the solar system he unwittingly sends several asteroids on a crash course with Earth.  Can Manny the woolly mammoth along with his friends and family that makeup The Herd do anything to avert their following the same path to extinction as the dinosaurs?  As they discover the danger of the pending asteroid collision, The Herd rediscovers an old ally from one of their past adventures who just may hold the key to saving the planet from a scrat-tastrophe!



Since we were watching an ICE AGE story, it was only fitting to stock up on acorns for our special movie watching treat.  We had a whole plate full of tasty snacks to share that would have truly made that acorn chasing squirrel Scrat envious.  They weren't real acorns of course because those wouldn't be very appetizing but rather a combination of Hershey's Kisses, mini Nilla wafers, and chocolate chips.

Our ICE AGE acorns are actually fairly easy to make and they really taste great as a family movie night treat.  Count out the number of acorns you'd like to create and place that number of mini Nilla wafers on a plate.  Measure out a 1/4 cup of chocolate chip cookies and place them in a microwave plate.  Heat up for a minute in the microwave and stir up to create a paste.  With a knife spread enough paste along the bottom of each Nilla wafer to secure a Hershey's Kiss to the bottom of the cookie. Then place a small dab of paste on the opposite side of the Nilla Wafer to glue a chocolate chip in its middle. Don't dwadle because you need to secure all the parts of the acorn together while the chocolate paste remains hot.  Let your acorns cool for a few minutes once you've attached all the pieces together and voila you have a snack that would drive Scrat wild!  Though unlike the real deal, these acorns are nut-free which is very important for this dad with kids who have peanut and tree nut allergies.  Always look at the labeling on packaging to make sure an item is contamination and ingredient free for the particular food allergies you may be concerned about.

To share our family's movie night fun with A Geek Daddy's blog readers and social media followers, in addition to sharing our diy recipe for a delicious snack, I also have a copy of the movie to giveaway.  To be eligible for this giveaway you must follow @Geekdad248 on Twitter and retweet our original contest tweet embedded below before October 21, 2016 @ 11:59 pm EST.

Follow @GeekDad248 & RT before 10/22/16 for chance to win #ICEAGE: COLLISION COURSE #ScratinSpace #FamilyMovieNight #Giveaway #ad pic.twitter.com/kryceFDkXc

— A Geek Daddy (@GeekDad248) October 15, 2016

Must be a US  resident over the age of 18 to participate. No P.O. Boxes allowed for delivery of the prize.  One entry per person and winner will be selected from all eligible entries. Fox Home Entertainment will be responsible for the delivery of the prize to the selected winner. Each household is only eligible to win once via blog giveaways.  If you have won this movie on another blog, you will not be eligible to win it again and the prize will be forfeited.  Winner is subject to eligibility verification. By participating in this promotion you waive any liability of any kind against the publisher of this blog. A Geek Daddy is providing this giveaway contest as a benefit to our readers and social media followers and has not been financially compensated for this promotion.

Our ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE family movie night was made possible courtesy of Fox Home Entertainment, Smithsonian and National Geographic.  Fox Home Entertainment provided A Geek Daddy a #ScratinSpace fun pack that included the movie, a very nice #ICEAGE blanket, some Smithsonian products that included a launchable rocket, telescope and a planetarium projector.  We also received a very nice book from National Geographic "Backyard Guide To The Night Sky."

After watching ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE, we enjoyed a planetarium show on the ceiling.  The Smithsonian Planetarium Projector provides a rotating star pattern of the Northern Sky which can be combined with 24 high definition space images.  Choose from planets, nebulae, moons, asteroids, a space shuttle and an astronaut to display among the stars.

After flipping through National Geographic's "Backyard Guide To The Night Sky," my kids also spent some time gazing through the Smithsonian telescope we were provided to check out the moon, see if they could glimpse of the International Space Station, and look for any other celestial objects that may be within their view.

Rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America, ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE is now available on Blu-Ray, Digital HD, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD. For more information about the movie, please visit iceagemovies.com

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Family Movie Night

My son had been getting into a little bit of trouble in kindergarten being too rambunctious and energetic during class, so I promised him if he could go a few weeks without any problems at school we would have a special movie watching night when How to Train Your Dragon 2 comes out on video.  He's lived up to his end of the bargain being a well behaved little boy at school so I'm sticking to my part of the deal and putting together a special night for the family.

The How to Train Your Dragon toys, television series, and movies are the hot thing that have captured my son's attention and imagination lately...he is so excited to be able to watch How to Train Your Dragon 2 when it comes out on dvd and blu-ray! How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a fantasy film filled with dragons and vikings produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox that appeared in theaters this summer and is a sequel to the original How to Trains Your Dragon movie that came out in 2010.  This new movie takes place five years after the events in the first film and features Hiccup and his viking friends as young adults as they meet Valka, Hiccup's long-lost mother, and Drago Bludvist, a madman who want to conquer the world by controlling dragons.

To make our family movie night special we aren't just going to throw some popcorn in the microwave and flip on the movie, we're going to have a Viking Feast while we enjoy the show.  A Geek Daddy is going to put his mastery of grilling to good use and have some fun making up a meal that would even satisfy the appetite of a dragon.  We'll have some Viking Ale (actually a child friendly concoction of butterscotch and ginger ale) grilled Turkey Legs to gnaw on, and some Viking Boats for desert.

VIKING ALE (Non-alcoholic)

Ingredients:

2 parts club soda, cream soda or ginger ale
1 part butterscotch syrup
1/2 tablespoon of butter

Directions:

Combine butterscotch syrup and butter in a microwave-safe glass;

Microwave on high for one minute or until syrup is bubbly and butter is melted;

Stir and cool for a few seconds;

Slowly fill up the remainder of the glass with cream soda or ginger ale for a fizzy treat.

TURKEY LEGS

One of the best part of going to a Renaissance Festival is eating one of those great big turkey legs they grill up for you there.  Hey you can make them at home too with just a little bit of effort on your part.

Ingredients:

**The Meat**
 Turkey Legs - you can buy these drumsticks at many markets

**Brine**
4 quarts of water
1/2 cup of sea salt
1/4 cup brown sugar

**Basting Sauce**
Honey
Barbeque Sauce
Red Wine Vinegar

Directions:

Combine the water, kosher salt and sugar and mix well. Place the turkey drumsticks in the brine so they're completely covered -- if you're making a lot of turkey legs, you may need to double the amount of brine;

Refrigerate your turkey legs, in the brine solution, over night. Remove from the fridge about an hour before cooking, so they can reach room temperature;

When you're ready to cook, remove the turkey legs from the brine and pat them dry. Brush each turkey leg lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Preheat your grill;

Combine the honey, barbeque sauce and red wine vinegar to taste. If you like yours sweeter use more honey. If you like your sauce tangier use more vinegar;

Place the turkey legs on the grill. Brush them with the sauce periodically, and turn them so they grill evenly;

Grill the turkey legs for  thirty minutes, occasionally turning and basting them. When finished wrap the turkey legs in aluminum foil for about fifteen minutes to finish cooking;

Enjoy - feast on these like a viking holding the drumstick in your hand and savoring it as you gnaw at it with your teeth like a medieval warrior.

VIKING BOATS

While you have the grill going here is a quick and tasty desert that is easy to make and kids will love.

Ingredients

Bananas

Marshmallows

Chocolate Chips

Chocolate Syrup

Honey

Aluminum Foil

Directions:

Open a banana but don't completely pull the peel off.  Slice it along its length so it looks like an open hot dog bun;

Place marshmallows, chocolate chips, and chocolate syrup within the slit you've created.  Drizzle some honey over the top of your stuffing.  Then wrap the banana back inside its peel;

Wrap the banana in aluminum foil and place it on a warm grill for ten minutes;

Unwrap the foil and the banana peel.  Ta da! You have a Viking Boat for desert! Tear into the soft warm banana filled with melted marshmallow and chocolate and devour it like a dragon.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 will be available on Blu-ray and DVD beginning November 11, 2014.  Raise your turkey leg and viking ale with your hands into the air to cheer and toast for a successful adventure and journey be accomplished by Hiccup and his loyal companion Toothless in this family friendly animated feature film.

DISCLAIMER:  As a member of the Fox Home Entertainment Insiders blogger program A Geek Daddy Blog receives complimentary dvds and promotional items promoting films that are being marketed  in campaigns associated with this program.  A Geek Daddy Blog does not receive financial compensation for its participation as a Fox Home Entertainment Insider.