Make Ahead Entertaining – Life with the Lawsons

November 11, 2020

Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh peaches, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 cup milk
1 stick butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup all purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder (I prefer this aluminum free version)

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.)

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.

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.

Top with peaches and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

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.

May 26, 2020May 26, 2020

Iced Lemon Cookies

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!

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.

Store in pie save or other air tight container!

Y’all try these and let me know what you think!

May 18, 2020

Easy Strawberry Pie

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.

Place crust with berries back in refrigerator.

In medium sauce pan, whisk together gelatin, pudding, lemon juice and water until it begins to thicken.

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!

Enjoy!

September 16, 2019September 20, 2019

Make-Ahead Entertaining – Taco Bar

Who doesn’t love a good taco bar?!

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!

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.

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!

Guacamole

Sour cream

Shredded cheese

Lettuce

Diced onion

Sliced black olives

Roasted red peppers

Taco sauce

Fresh peppers from the garden

Lime wedges

My Momma’s homemade salsa

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!

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!