Place stick of butter in baking dish in cold oven. Preheat oven with pan in it to 350 degrees. (Sometimes I will make several of these at a time to freeze or share with friends. If so, I use these pans with matching lids.)
Butter is melted and ready for batter!
While the oven is preheating, I will heat in a saucepan over medium heat, the sliced peaches and 1 cup of sugar until the sugar is desolved.
Yummy peaches!
Whisk together 3/4 cups of the sugar, all of the flour, salt, baking powder and milk and pour over butter in heated baking dish.
Batter
Top with peaches and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Yummy!
You can do this cobbler with other fruits as well, or even with canned fruit. If using canned fruit, reduce sugar to 1/2 cup.
These can be frozen after baking and cooling completely. After I freeze them, I will thaw overnight in the fridge and then bake on 300 degrees for about 15-20 minutes until warm just before serving.
I use this rice cooker, but you could use a regular saucepan and cook as you would standard white rice.
This recipe can also be divided or multiplied without affecting the end result.
Ingredients:
3 cups white rice
6 cups water
1 stick butter
1-2 cloves minced garlic or 1 tablespoon of refrigerated minced garlic
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 tablespoon minced onion (you can also use fresh onion)
1 Tablespoon chicken bouillon
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt
(You can also swap half of the water and all of bouillon for 3 cups of chicken broth)
I put all ingredients into my rice cooker and stir occasionally until the cooker clicks off.
Just dump and cook! Super easy!
You can also bring the water to a boil in a regular saucepan on the stove, add all other ingredients stirring thoroughly and return to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. The results would be the same, I just find the rice cooker soooo easy!
I will make this on a Sunday and use it all week in different meals. Our family loves it! It’s filling, delicious, and the ingredients also aid as natural anti inflammatory agents!
All done!
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My sweet hubby loves all things lemon! I whipped these cookies up last week and he and the kiddos went nuts over them! They’re delicious with or without the lemon frosting!
Delicious!
For the Cookies:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick of salted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 egg
Zest of 1 lemon
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
Lemon essential oil (I dipped a toothpick in the oil and swirled into batter and that was enough) or you can use 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract
For the icing:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper or cookie paper.
In stand mixer (I use one like this), beat softened butter and cream cheese for about a minute or until well incorporated and creamy.
Add sugar and continue mixing until it gets fluffy. Usually after 2-3 minutes.
Add in egg and lemon zest.
Stir baking powder and flour together and slowly add to mixer.
Add lemon juice.
Dip a toothpick into lemon essential oil and swirl into batter, or if you prefer, use 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract.
Mix until well blended.
Using a small cookie scoop, drop dough onto cookie sheets, leaving plenty of room between cookies.
Spray a measuring cup with cooking spray and dip into sugar, as shown, and gently press cookies to flatten the tops.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Cool cookies on wire racks.
While cookies are cooling, mix together with a whisk or fork the powdered sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. Drizzle over cooled cookies.
This is a light and cold dessert that is perfect for those hot summer days! Whip this up ahead of time for summer parties, weekend dinners, or just because! You can make this pie in the graham cracker crust described below, or you can use my Mamaw’s Pie Crust recipe here. Both are perfect and I have made this both ways, depending on my mood!
Ingredients:
For the crust:
1 sleeve graham crackers
1 stick of butter, melted
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
For the filling:
1 quart fresh strawberries, sliced
1 small package strawberry gelatin
1 small package vanilla pudding and pie filling
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 cups water
8 ounces whipped topping
Instructions:
For the crust, combine all dry ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until fine crumbs. Add in melted butter and pulse until combined.
Dump into pie plate and use hands or a greased measuring cup to press into the bottom and up the sides of a glass pie plate. (Affiliate link: if you purchase items from these links, I will receive a small portion of the sale at no additional cost to you! Thank you for supporting my blog!)
Place in refrigerator to cool while prepping the pie filling.
Slice fresh strawberries and line graham cracker crust sides and bottom as shown.
Yum!
Place crust with berries back in refrigerator.
In medium sauce pan, whisk together gelatin, pudding, lemon juice and water until it begins to thicken.
Pie filling mixture
Set aside and allow filling mixture to totally cool.
Pour mixture over berries and refrigerate until the filling begins to set up.
Cover in cool whip and garnish with additional fresh berries or however you choose!
With extra peppers laying around, my family’s love of spicy foods, and my desire to get back into the swing of eating low carb, I decided to prep one of my favorite keto/low carb casseroles!
This is super easy, freezes well, and makes a yummy addition to your meal prepping stash!
As usual, I prep using steam pans and lids because they stack up well in my freezer and prevent freezer burn so my food stays fresh longer!
First I lay out my cream cheese to soften. I also cut my bacon in to small pieces and start frying it.
Bacon!
I then cook my chicken in the air fryer. I prefer this method simply because it’s way less mess!
Just throw the chicken in, sprinkle with some garlic and some Slap Ya Mama Cajun seasoning, and crank it up! The chicken can also be boiled, baked, or cooked in the instant pot. I’ve used all of these methods and they all turn out great! Do what’s easiest for you…that’s the glory of meal prepping! The whole point is to make life easier!
I use my stand mixer to shred the chicken and then cover the bottom of my baking dish
(I add a little extra Cajun seasoning here, but you can skip this step if you prefer less spice!)
Shredded chicken with a little “Slap ya Mama”
Spread softened cream cheese over chicken.
Cap and core peppers and cut in half to layer or you can slice. (I prefer to slice because it’s makes it easier to eat!) Layer over chicken.
Almost ready!
Sprinkle with shredded cheese and crumbled bacon.
Ready to bake!
Now it’s ready to go into the oven or freezer for a later date!
Bake thawed casserole at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.
In several posts, you have probably heard me discuss budgeting and meal prepping. In our household, those two go hand in hand!
Feeding a large crew like mine can be expensive, but I’ve learned to shop sales and stock up on items that I know can be used in meal prepping. I also know which items are cheaper to buy in bulk, so I take advantage of those items as well.
One of my favorite meals to prepare ahead of time and stock my freezer with is this easy chicken spaghetti casserole.
This meal is super easy to whip up in big batches, throw in these awesome aluminum pans with lids, label and stick in your freezer!
When I know we are having one of these casseroles, I try to thaw it during the day so I can pop it in the oven for 20ish minutes and be ready to go, but life isn’t always perfect like that, but that’s no biggie! These casseroles can be cooked from frozen but it takes anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours to finish cooking if it hasn’t been thawed.
I love having this type of meal prepped and thawed for quick weeknight suppers because they can be baked in the time it takes me to bathe the littles and settle in after a chaotic day of school drop offs, pickups, gym class, dance class, Bible study, football games, or whatever else I’m chauffeuring my kids to or from!
These ingredients can be multiplied as many times as you’d like and mixes up very well in large batches.
Creamy chicken spaghetti
1 pound cooked angel hair pasta
2-3 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
8oz sour cream
1 can rotel (I blend mine because my picky kids don’t like chunks of tomatoes)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese
Parmesan cheese
Mix all ingredients except cheese in a large mixing bowl or with stand mixer.
Put into casserole dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, then cover with shredded cheddar cheese.
This one is ready for the freezer!
At this point, you can cover and freeze for later use, or you can bake if you’re ready to eat!
I bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, when cheese is melted and bubbly.
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In our family, Taco Tuesday is a tradition that doesn’t often get bypassed! Even the pickiest of the Lawsons love Mexican food!
I usually brown some lean ground beef or even ground deer, turkey, or chicken and season with our favorite taco seasoning. I lay out a variety of toppings from shredded cheese, fresh tomatoes, sour cream, avocado, and any peppers we have ready from our garden!
I will steam some flour tortillas and everyone lines up and builds their own favorite creations!
Sometimes, in addition to our standard tacos, I will make homemade salsa or even some homemade enchiladas.
These enchiladas are wonderful and easy! They can be served fresh, or can be frozen in these handy aluminum pans with these lids for a quick and easy meal later!
18-24 Corn tortillas
2 pounds of browned Taco meat
1 large can Enchilada sauce (you can use canned, or homemade, my recipe is coming soon!)
3-4 cups Shredded cheddar cheese
This is super easy and so yummy!
Spread a small amount of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish.
Starting the first layer
Layer tortillas, beef, shredded cheese and repeat until out of tortillas. Sprinkle more shredded cheese on top.
Ready for the oven!
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese is melty and bubbly!
Ya’ll, my family’s love of tacos runs deep, so of course, a taco bar is my go to menu when we have people over for parties, football games, or any other family gathering!
Getting set up for tacos!
I love doing tacos because of the variety that pleases many tastes, as well as the ease and ability to prep everything ahead of time which enables me to enjoy the function instead of spending the entire time in the kitchen. Win win!
Here is a list of what I include:
Taco meat
Spanish Rice
Refried Beans
Black beans
Cheese dip (type recipe)
(I make these first five items ahead and leave in a crockpot on “Warm”)
I will turn my oven on very low and keep some crunchy taco shells there so they stay warm and fresh throughout the game!
I will also keep flour and corn tortillas set up with a steam rack and a pan of water simmering so we can steam a fresh tortilla before making a plate.
Getting ready to steam tortillas!
The day before I will grab serving bowls and fill with these toppings and cover so all I have to do is set them out right when it’s time to eat!
This is always such a hit with our family because it caters to such a wide variety of tastes. People can add as much or as little of the various toppings they like, and the leftovers are just as delicious the next day and it saves this busy momma from cooking!
Sometimes, if we are having a big crowd, or if I want to have more variety, I will thaw one of my make ahead Beef Enchilada Casseroles and serve as well!
Easy Beef Enchilada Casserole
What are your favorite taco bar items? I am always adding or taking away toppings based on our tastes at the time, so comment or message me and share your ideas!
I don’t know about you, but there are days full of chasing kids, working, cleaning, errands…never ending lists of to-do’s and dinner is the last thing on my mind until everyone is starving and I have nothing prepared!
What do you do?
Drive through another fast food place and spend way too much money filling your kids up on junk?
Order pizza again?
I have a better idea!
With a few bucks and an hour or so, I can prepare a few casseroles that can sit in my fridge and be popped in the oven and ready in 20 minutes, or even frozen for later use!
This last weekend, I decided to do a big meal prepping session! I spent about 3 hours in the kitchen and ended up with 12 casseroles, 3 full sized chicken pot pies, 3 mini chicken pot pies, 4 pear pies (I shared with my neighbors so they’re not all pictured!), two bags of frozen vegetable beef soup, and pear pie filling for future fried pies!
Our freezer is full and so will our bellies be when we thaw and serve these amazing meals!
Meal prepping can be done in small batches or in one big batch like I did this time.
When I’m doing casseroles, it saves me tons of time and work when I cook all of my meats at the same time. Regardless of how many casseroles I’m making with taco meat, I cook it all together and divide out as equally as possible. The measurements aren’t exact, but that’s ok! These dishes come out perfect anyway!
I will cook my chicken in the instant pot because, well, let’s be honest…I never remember to thaw it in time, and it can be cooked from frozen in the instant pot and takes very little time.
I also save a lot of time and work by shredding my chicken in my stand mixer. I can’t imagine how long it would take me to hand shred or dice enough chicken for a dozen casseroles! This method is super easy. Simply put your cooked chicken breasts in the stand mixer bowl with the dough hook attachment, and turn on low until the meat is all broken up like this! Fast and easy!
Shredding chicken in the mixer saves so much time!
It’s great for pulled pork, too!
I also use my mixer to combine my casserole ingredients, dump into the aluminum pan, cover with cheese, label and place the lid on top, and freeze. It’s super quick and easy!
Here are a few of my family’s favorite meals to freeze. Full recipes and tips coming soon!
