Muffin Tin Monday - Theme: Numbers/Counting

Welcome to Muffin Tin Monday, the weekly blog link-up that celebrates the Muffin Tin Meal and connects  creative food lovers all across the world: a big shout out to the moms in Australia, South Africa, and Japan! What is a Muffin Tin Meal? Simple dimple: it's a meal, lunch, snack, or dessert served in a muffin tin. If you are new, visit the FAQ page for more info. 

Today marks the 2nd week of themes after our summer hiatus. This week's Theme:

Numbers, Counting, 123's

There are so many ways to go and as you can see, we thought a little outside the box.


"5 Little Monkeys Swinging From A Tree"

In this tin: Peanut Butter Roll up and broccoli "Tree", Orange, Apple and Fruit Leather "Monkey Face", "5 cheese cubes on food picks, Baby Carrot "Alligator Teeth", Banana "Monkey Food", Surprise: sprinkles inside little mini monkey face dressing containers. 

5 Little Monkeys Rhyme:

5 Little Monkeys Swinging From A Tree
Teasing Mr. Alligator "Can't catch me! Can't catch me!"
Along came Mr. Alligator...quiet as can be...and he...
Snapped one monkey right outta that tree!
(repeat until zero are left)


I used the Wilton circle fondant cutters (they are so handy!) for the face shape.
I used the Large one as a guide for the orange slice head. I cut an apple into thin slices and then punched out 3 circles using the medium circles- one for the mouth area and two for the ears. (I lost the little mini cutter), so I had to use a straw tip to punch out the eyes and nose. Using the medium circle cutter, I punched a half circle out of strawberry fruit leather.


Here are the sprinkles inside the monkey bento sauce container:




I had so much fun with this one, I could hardly wait to show you and even posted early.

**A NOTE ABOUT THEMES: I want to make it clear that you don't have to do a themed mtm to participate in Muffin Tin Monday. It's merely a guide and serves more as inspiration for those who want it. Feel free to submit a themed tin or a non-themed tin- I just want you to have fun and join in!

Okay, here's my favorite part: What did you make? I can't wait to see! Be sure to add the url/link to your mtm blog post or online hosted photo by clicking on the blue "add your link" button.

No Need For The Sunday Paper


Hope you enjoy these links as much as I do!

This week's fabulous links:

I Can Teach My Child: A wonderful "new-to-me" early childhood education blog that is chalk full of ideas for activities and crafts for children from birth to 5 years. Some of my more recent favorites: Paper Plate Fish Net Craft and the Sand Art Number Cards The perfect duo for an ocean theme unit {image credit: Icanteachmychild.com}

Cupcakes Take The Cake: I am in love with these Hello Kitty Cupcakes with sparkly glitter hairbows. My 6 year old would faint other these beauties.

The Decorated Cookie: How to Draw on Food  this round up is so inspiring!

Delightful Distractions: How to cover a photo mat with fabric. Inexpensive solution for adding color and personality to any room in the house and would make a darling gift for the grandparents. So cute! Found via a favorite obsession blog of mine: Mod Podge Rocks

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Scripture For Sunday
Ephesians 1:7

"In him we have redemption through his blood, 
the forgiveness of sins, 
in accordance with the riches of God's grace."

Fun With Cookie And Fondant Cutters


Wilton Wednesday came and went this week. But that doesn't mean I can share with you a little Wilton fondant and cookie cutter fun.

*Disclosure: Wilton  provided me with a bundle of fondant and cookie cutters to share with you for free. But that doesn't mean my thoughts aren't objective. If something sucks isn't good, I'll tell you. I'm cool like that. Fortunate for me and for you, Wilton's products don't suck.





Vons Home Grocery Delivery

It feels like just yesterday that my daughter, now 6 (and a half, she'd like you to know) was born. I remember being so tired that last trimester and for a brief few weeks I was laid up on bed rest. I had seen these grocery trucks driving by and heard about Vons.com and that you could order groceries online and have them delivered to your house. This sounded like the perfect option for me, as the thought of strolling down aisles of my local Vons grocery store for that week's sustinence seemd like a very daunting task at 8 months pregnant (I had cankles, people!)

I remember being so relieved when the man in the nice polo shirt showed up on my doorstep with arms full of groceries. I didn't have to set foot outside the house and I could rest my feet (erm, cankles) on a propped up pillow in peace.

As my daughter grew older and we added one more to make us a family of four, I looked forward to those lazy strolls down the aisles of my local grocery store, all by myself. I would pour over every item that slightly piqued my interest in hopes of prolonging my "alone time".

These days, I am thinking it would be nice to spend that time crafting, creating, spending time with Muffin Tin Dad or to catch up on blog reading.

So when I revisited Vons.com  recently (whose family of grocery stores include Vons, Safeway, Pavillions to find out if Vons.com serves your area visit the Vons.com FAQ page ) I was thrilled to see my old friend still there, ready to help me shop in the comfort of my own home (and my favorite black yoga pants).

Ordering your groceries online isn't difficult. In fact, Vons.com makes it easy with just a few clicks of the mouse.

I was able to set up an account (or in my case, re set up). Browse items by category or by aisle, shop any time day or night, schedule my groceries to be delivered as early as the next day (sometimes in less than 24 hrs) and pay for them all in a few simple steps.

Things I loved:

  • Shop at anytime, day or night. Seriously. I completed my order at midnight and had it in my hands at 1pm the next day.
  • Shopping by aisle. I could find items quickly, just like my local store 
  • Free shipping on my first order, and delivery as low as $6.95
  • Savings offered via the Vons Club Card are automatically included.
  • Saves your purchase history for a simplified online shopping experience the next time around
  • Order party platters from the Deli/Signature Cafe for your next birthday party, monday night football, or family get together and have it delivered right to your home!
  • Have the choice of accepting other brands or sizes in case the one you chose is not available

In the future, I 'd love to see the ability to use gift cards.

You don't have to be on bed rest or be home bound to enjoy all the benefits that Vons.com has to offer. However, I think Vons.com would be perfect for:

  • Expecting moms on bed rest
  • Working Parents
  • Stay-at-home parents with preschoolers and toddlers 
  • Those without a car
  • Senior Adults who are unable to go out
  • Busy professionals
  • Fantastic way to surprise a needy family with some much needed groceries

Would I shop Vons.com  again? Yes, absolutely.

AN EXCLUSIVE OFFER FOR YOU!

The folks at Vons.com have graciously given me a promotional code to share with you: MUFFIN
Using the code MUFFIN at check out provides you with not only FREE SHIPPING but $7 off your first order of $50 at Vons.com

What about you? Would you use Home Grocery Delivery? Do grocers in your state offer something similar?

*Disclosure, I was given 2 Gift Cards in order to shop at Vons.com and share with you my experience. My opinions are my own and objective.

Baby Food Jar Preschooler Drinking Glass


I would love for my kids to start using big kid cups. Here is my problem. Either the plastic cups are too light and tip over at the lightest touch or the adult sized glasses are too heavy and cumbersome.

Enter the large baby food jars that my sister-in-law left at our house this week. I decided to try them out as little kid-sized juice cups. They work great!

Other little jars that work: dried beef jars, old canning jars for jam, old glade candle jars

What works for you?

How are (did) you make the transition from sippy to big kid cup?

Muffin Tin Monday - Theme: ABC's

It's Monday and around here, that means It's Muffin Tin Monday. This week begins the re-installment of themed Muffin Tin Meals. Themes will be on a "two week on, one week off" basis and upcoming themes can always be found on my sidebar and I will update the facebook page. I had so many ideas brewing for this week - here's what I came up with...

This week's theme: ABC's/Alphabet 


We did the letter "C"
In this tin: Chicken, Cantaloupe "C's, Cheese (babybel), Apple slice with fruit leather "C", Crinkle Cut Carrots, Cream Cheese (for the Carrots), Craisins

I had so much fun this week making the muffin tin meal. Muffin Tin Girl's eyes lit up when she saw it. And while she turned her nose up at the cream cheese, she was willing to give it a try.

My alphabet letter cutters were from a pack I bought for my sister-in-law from goodwill about a year ago. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they cut the cantaloupe. I looked at the fine print on the cutter and lo and behold they are made by Wilton! 



So, what did you make for Muffin Tin Monday? I hope you will join in this week. You can add your link by clicking the blue  "add your link button below." And if you don't, that's okay too. Be sure to check out all the other moms and their muffin tin meals listed below!

No Need For The Sunday Paper



The end of this week had us running around buying school supplies on sale, visiting friends and family before school starts and generally trying to ge things done around the house. How about you? Is Sunday, your "day of rest"? Well, around here instead of the Sunday Newspaper, we catch up on the inspiring, creative, educational, useful, and sometimes thought provoking links from around the web. 

Here are this week's links:

Crouching Mother, Hidden Toddler: (photo credit above) Kelly shares a simple, and yet delicious snack idea.

Trendy Treehouse: I like this idea of a graded colorful discipline chart. I am not sure how well I would do at implementing it. What do you think? Found via a tumblr follower who linked to A Girl And A Glue Gun (sometimes blogging feels like the "six degrees of separation"). :)

The Motherlode: love this idea for displaying kid's artwork. you could even print it up and archive it this way, cutting down on storage.

ABC/123: A Learning Cooperative -  This past week, the Katies had a linky party for home organization (kitchen, homeschool, toys, etc.) that had me drooling - so many wonderful idea from their readers. be sure to check it out!

Make and Takes: Love this wipe off weekly menu board. It functional and creative and it's a DIY project that you can customize to fit your home's decor. Brilliant.

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Scripture For Sunday
In the Bible, The Book of Ruth
Ruth 1:16-17
Speaking to her widowed mother-in-law

But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you."
 

Wilton Wednesdays

Welcome to the 2nd edition of Wilton Wednesday. 

I have really had fun exploring the wonderful products that Wilton has to offer. In this week's vlog, I talk about the back to school snacks, silicone muffin liners, and how to create a stash to make creating and assembling muffin tin meals a little easier. I'm still a vlogging newbie, so I hope you will bear with some of my more unflattering moments (like my bra strap showing).



Muffin Tin Monday


Welcome to Muffin Tin Monday, the weekly blog carnival of happy tummies and smiling kids. 
Each Monday, participants from all over the world share photos of the muffin tin meal they made that week, right here at Muffin Tin Mom. Many of you stop by each week simply to browse the submissions of others and we'd love to have you join in!

What is a muffin tin meal?
What is a muffin tin meal, you ask? Simply stated, it's a meal served in a muffin tin. Over the last two years, moms have become creative with their offerings (myself included). In fact, beginning next week, we will be starting "themed" weeks. However, I want to be sure you know that there is no right or wrong way to make a muffin tin meal. As long as a meal, snack or dessert is served in a muffin tin (patty pan, muffin pan, cupcake tin, etc.), silicone muffin cups, paper muffin cups it is considered a muffin tin meal. 


Here's our muffin tin meal for today's Muffin Tin Monday. We opted for an afternoon snack this time around.



 Pastel silicone muffin cups inside the tin of: 
broccolli and ranch dip, tangerines, white chocolate chips, star shaped cantaloupe, cubed sweet bread, mini star shaped cheese pieces



Virtually the same contents, served in only the silicone muffin cups.


Disclosure: A very special thank you to Wilton for providing me (for free) with a new Wilton Muffin Pan, the pastel silicone muffin cups and the star shaped fondant cutters I used in today's muffin tin meal for free. I especially love the pastel muffin cups. They are sturdy, stain resistant, and perfect for muffin tin meals.

What did you make? Won't you share it with us? Be sure to click the "add you link" blue button and add the url to your online photo or blog post.

No Need For The Sunday Paper


Happy Sunday to you all! I have collected some wonderful links this week-so I hope you enjoy them! And the paper this week? Well, I won't go into it too much....but promoting Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiched in French Toast as a "great option for school lunches" left me a little sad.

Katherine Marie Photography: LOVE her pirate "theme of the week" activities. She is such a wonderfully talented photographer and an equally creative mom. Her ideas are so inspiring!

Homemade By Jill: I can think of so many wonderful ways to use these adorable and free printable flash cards. a delightful piece of wall art or decoupaged onto a set of wood blocks, perhaps? How would you use them?

Kind Over Matter: And speaking of free printables, here's another inspiring free ABC printable perfect for birthday gifts, preschool wall art, and so much more.

Scholastic: 10 tips for transitioning from Summer to school. I love the tips about starting your school morning routine 2 weeks beforehand.

AlphaMom: If you follow Muffin Tin Meals on facebook, then you would have received a heads up on these colorful printable lunchbox notes and tags (photo above). A great way to encourage healthy eating and send them a little love during their school day.

[Img Credit: Alpha Mom]

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A little encouragement from The Good Book


The Book of Psalms 18:1-3,28,35

I will love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.

Muffin Tin Lunch


In this tin: 
Top row: grilled turkey and cheese sandwich rounds using Wilton round fondant cut outs
middle row: tangerine pieces, red peppers and mozzarella cheese on skewers/food picks
bottom row: red licorice, peach yogurt with sprinkles, chocolate chips, more tangerines (because, they are yummy) 

And in case you were wondering what happened to all the crust I cut of from the sandwiches....



I added diced red peppers and mozzarella cheese to it and warmed it in the microwave for 1 minute or so.


Perfect lunch for Mommy...

Wilton Wednesdays

I am introducing a new weekly feature here at Muffin Tin Mom. It's called "Wilton Wednesdays". I love Wilton's high quality and versatile products. I use a lot of them for MTM. For the next several weeks, I will feature one or more products and how you can use them for Muffin Tin Meals and Muffin Tin Monday. Be sure to check out the video. (I put on make up and did my hair and everything).




subscribers and those receiving by email, you'll have to click through to view the video.


*Disclosure: Wilton sent me a box full of goodies for free to share with you, my readers, and the opinions about these products are purely my own. This vlog series will not be a formal review, but rather a showcase of their products.

Muffin Tin Monday

Welcome to Muffin Tin Monday. The weekly blog link up here at Muffin Tin Mom where this community of moms and caregivers share the muffin tin meal they've made for their kids that week. Muffin Tin Mom is the official home of the Muffin Tin Meal. It's hard to believe that we have been doing this for over 2 years now and chances are, if you've seen MTM mentioned elsewhere in the online it's because of this little-blog-carnival-that-could and you, dear readers who I have loved connecting with, each and every step of the way. To read more about MTM origins, be sure to check out the FAQ page.

To celebrate, I wanted to share with you one of my most favorite reader submitted Muffin Tin Meals. It's from The Masked Mommy and after being seen here was featured on other notable blogs such as The Crafty Crow. This week I will be highlighting some more of my favorite themed muffin tin meal reader submissions.


We are also gearing up for themes beginning August 23rd. Don't forget that you will be able to find out what the current week's theme (or no theme) is by checking the top of my blog's side bar (If you are receiving this by feeburner or email, you'll have to click through. Themes are on a "two on, one off" basis.

Now, It's your turn. What did you make for Muffin Tin Monday? Won't you share it with us? Be sure to click on the blue "add your link" button and enter the url of your mtm blog post or online photo.

No Need For The Sunday Paper



This week's link love:

Mama's A Mess: Sharon features this adorable towel made into a mermaid tail. Perfect for that little Ariel in your life. And what's more, she sells them in her etsy shop.

Nourish Interactive: Use these fun and interactive online games to teach your child about nutrition and eating healthy. We like "whack a snack" and matching meals".

Origami Mommy: I love how delightfully simple, yet creative this water bottle fountain is. A bonus? Makes a great science experiment. Found via one pretty thing.

Stepping Thru Crazy: Love, love, love this hanging pendant lamp made from placemats! So Inpiring. (Found via Feels Like Home. Tara shares her links through her "Things to write home about" posts. And if you like my links, I know you will love heres. :) )

[image credit: laverrue ]

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Scripture For Sunday:

Psalm 32:7
 You are my hiding place; 
       you will protect me from trouble 
       and surround me with songs of deliverance

Saturday Snapshot


The family reunion ended today. It was a long, fun filled week!But, this mama is so tired. Here's a shot from one of the days at the beach. Even their backs are cute to me.

Grilled Pizza Kids Can Make


Good friends of ours had a cooking themed birthday party for their 5 year old daughter. And I asked her if I could share with you her "Make Your Own Grilled Flatbread Pizzas" that each of the kids made. Penny (that's my friend) included a variety of toppings both for little kids and for grown ups. Let me tell you, it was one of the tastiest pizzas I have had in awhile.

Here are the ingredients she offered:

  • Large Pita Bread rounds
  • Marinara/Pizza Sauce
  • Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
  • Pepperonis
  • Olives
  • Basil
  • Sun Dried Tomatoes
  • Crushed Pineapple


Each guest grabbed a pita, spread a little sauce on and then you could add whatever toppings you wanted.


Once assembled, They were placed on the grill to cook and covered for about 5-7 minutes (or until the cheese melted. The grill had been preheated to act almost like a pizza oven. It was the perfect activity for kids and grown-ups to do together.


If you make them, I would love for you to tell me how yours came out! I can see a whole smörgåsbord of of toppings like Alfredo sauce and grilled chicken, and so much more! Also, putting the toppings in a muffin tin might also make for a super fun Muffin Tin Monday!

A special thank you to Penny for letting me share her idea with all of you, I knew you would enjoy it as much as we did!

Muffin Tin Meal Supplies - Storage and Organization


Her is the bulk of my Muffin Tin Meal supplies and accessories. After 2 years, my collection of items has grown quite a bit and I was surprised after gathering it all in one place how much I have. Here's how I separate, store and organize everything. 

I separate the supplies into a several bins.
  • Large bin for paper muffin and food cups
  • Large bin for silicone muffin cups, rice molds, misc. items
  • Handled box for cookie, fondant, and vegetable cutters
  • I used a bead organizer to organize plastic pic
  • Small bin for wood picks/cupcake toppers
  • Small bin for seasonal items
6 and 12 cup tins (metal and silicone, are with my other cake pans. My cupboard space is super limited, so this is how I am storing everything for now.

I chose clear shallow plastic bins
 (Room Essentials brand from Target)


I turn them upside down so they are easier to see at a glance.


Here are some other great solutions from MTM readers and around the web. Because Muffin Tin Meals are so closely tied to Japanes Bento Box Meals, the tools and accessories used are similar:



What's For Lunch A Our House?: Shannon shares some great MTM organizational tips and photos. She is also a fantastic bento blogger. Here is a photo of her supplies. She uses shoe box sized containers. YOu can read more about how she organizes at her bento blog



A Pocket Full Of Buttons: I like what Stephanie did  (below) too. Her MTM/bento storage features a rolling cart. This is a great option if you are lacking in cupboard space, but have space in the corner of your kitchen.




One Little Word She Knew: I love how clean and neat Christy's MTM storage is, and she has labels and solutions for the storing the silicone 6 cup tins. 



Lunch In A Box: I am kind of digging how Biggie from Lunch in a Box used bins and stacked them in a bookcase that housed her cookbooks to store some of her bento supplies. I think it looks understated and part of the decor.

Flickr is also a great place to look for organizational inspiration.

Important Tips to remember:
Keep like items together. 
Organize by their purpose, color, or frequency of use.
Leave room for adding more as you go.
Take time every few months or as it becomes cluttered to reevaluate and reorganize.

One last thing: You don't need all this "stuff" to participate in Muffin Tin Monday or to make a Muffin Tin Meal.  But, I do want to help those out that have a bunch of MTM supplies.

Simple Very Hungry Caterpillar Theme Cupcakes

Here are the adorable cupcakes my sister-in-law made for our niece's 1st birthday. I just love them. Simple, understated and yet conveys the theme.


oops!

I try never to pull the "things are really busy at home" card with you all. But, *sigh* things are really busy at home! We have family in town for a reunion and I jumpd the gun promising a bunch of fun posts that need to wait a day or two...

so stick with me friends.

Muffin Tin Monday

Welcome to Muffin Tin Monday! New here? You may want to read up on MTM on the FAQ page. Keeping it simple this week.

In this tin: Salami slices, cheese circles, strawberries, tangerine slices.

Coming up this week on Muffin Tin Mom:

Another tutorial featuring accessories
Muffin Tin Meal: storage and organization
Homemade Grilled Pizzas your kids can help make
and more!

Are you ready to participate in Muffin Tin Monday? What are you waiting for? It's about time! To add your muffin tin meal blog post, click on the "add your link" button.



No Need For The Sunday Paper


Who needs the Sunday paper, with links like these. I hope you are inspired, encouraged, and left wih some really useful content. Below are some of the links that have caught my eye this week. Happy Reading!

Teach Preschool: Deborah has put together a nice post on blogging tips. Are you an early learning/preschool blogger? Have you wanted to be featured on other blogs? Deborah breaks down what she thinks is important and I have to say she hit it right on the nose.

Call Me Karo: What will you do today? If you only read one post today, I hope you choose this one.

Random Thoughts of a Supermom: I love the way Kelli showcased her kid's artwork in the hall. So Creative.

Pink and Green Mama: Bubble wrap print mats and fish printing....they came out so pretty, I just had to share (photo credit above).