I had some close female friends and family over for a little get together Monday evening after work.

I promised to serve them some good desserts.

But I didn’t have time to make a ton of fun food.

So I improvised.

A little store bought and a little semi-homemade.

And I proved that you don’t have to spend a lot of time or money to host a successful party.

PS. my table “runner” is a fun ladies scarf from Target ($14.99) and I hijacked the palm leaves from a tree in my office for the centerpieces (shh don’t tell).

 

Here are a few of the “recipes” I used.

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Rene’s Semi-Homemade Strawberry Lemonade Cake

• 1 box strawberry cake mix
• 1 box lemon cake mix
• 1 recipe of lemon cream cheese frosting (see below)
• 2 cups sliced strawberries, frozen or fresh

Prepare each cake mix according to the box instructions. Bake in four greased 8 or 9 inch round cake pans. Do NOT over bake. Once baked, carefully remove the cakes from the pans and place on cooling racks. Let the cakes cool completely. While the cakes cool, prepare the frosting.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting adapted from allrecipes.com

• 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
• 4- 5 cups powdered sugar
• 3-4 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla

Place all ingredients in a bowl. Using a stand or hand mixer, mix on high until the frosting is completely smooth. To assemble the cake, place the first layer on a cake stand or large plate. Add 1/3 cup strawberries to the top of the first layer. Place the next layer on top and repeat until all the layers are stacked. Using all the frosting, ice the cake, starting with the sides and then finishing with the top.

Enjoy! Best if made 1-2 days in advance. Store in the refrigerator. If you are unsure of how to stack or frost a layered cake click here for a tutorial by Real Simple.

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Rene’s Citrus-Ade Party Punch

• 1 lemon, washed
• 1 lime, washed
• 1 orange, washed
• 2 cans of frozen lemonade concentrate, defrosted
• 2 can of frozen limeade concentrate, defrosted
• 1 can of frozen orange juice concentrate, defrosted
• 2 gallons water

Slice all the fruit (discard the ends). Place in the freezer until ready to serve. The frozen fruit will act as “ice cubes.” In a large beverage dispenser, combine all the concentrates and water. Place in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Once ready to serve, simply stir the water and concentrates and add the frozen fruit.

Enjoy! Variation: Use sparkling water in place of the tap water.

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