muffin tin monday & making a menu

For today's Muffin Tin Monday the theme was food the kids are thankful for (in other words...their favorites!) Last Monday, we had some friends over for lunch and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to let them all participate in Muffin Tin Monday and really, who doesn't like a good English muffin pizza?! I decided to put all of the yummy toppings in the muffin tin and let the kids create their own pizzas. I know this is a favorite of my daughter's and I think it was a favorite for her little friends, too, because a couple of them even had seconds!

the best view of our muffin tin...
I didn't get a good ariel picture before the kids started to get to work!

the kids hard at work creating pizza masterpieces
(it felt a little strange without a certain extra special Smith Family...)

the finished product!
I love how different they all look

Head on over to Her Cup Overfloweth for more of Muffin Tin Monday and to see what other kids have on their list of favorite foods!

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The last time I got my act together to plan a menu for the week, it was such a breeze of a week with stress free dinner preparation! I loved how nice it was to know exactly what I was going to make in the morning, and by prep time the meat was defrosted, all ingredients were on hand and I just put it all together. I'm notorious for deciding what to have for dinner at the 4:00 time of the day...only to realize that I don't have all the ingredients I need! So, why, you might ask, have I not started doing this menu planning thing more consistently since it helps the week run more smoothly? I'm asking myself that same question!

I'm kind of cheating in a way participating in this week's Menu Plan Monday over at The Org Junkie. It's a short week with all of the festivities of Thanksgiving, but I know that the first part of the week will be a bit busy preparing for our guests coming over, so I thought why not get my act together this week and get planning since I'm already in that mode of thinking!

Monday - Chicken Tortilla Soup (Monday night swim lesson night...crockpot meal!!)
This is a delightfully yummy soup that fills you up and tastes great with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream on top. Enjoy it with some tortilla chips. I would read the reviews on the link to make the recipe even better (which is what I did to make up my "own version") and I suggest using cooked chicken instead of canned chicken (personal preference).
Tuesday - Shrimp Scampi (this is one of those recipes that I've tweaked quite a bit, so there's no real link, but I've linked you to a list of Shrimp Scampis that you could try; I use defrosted shrimp meat to make it extra easy!)
This is the hubby's favorite dish, so why not treat him to a little lovin' on a Tuesday night?
Wednesday - I foresee myself quite busy with preparation for Thursday's guests, so I'm calling on our good friend Papa Murphy's
Thursday - We welcome our guests for a traditional Thanksgiving feast. Thank goodness they're bringing some of the food!! (Wish me luck with the turkey...yikes!)
Friday - turkey & cheese sandwiches
Saturday - serving up lasagna with more guests coming to visit
Sunday - here come the leftovers!!

See, I told you I was kind of cheating. I only had to really "plan" 2 days, but at least I have thought the week through and now I'm ready to conquer dinnertime (among all the other "to do's" on the list!)