I found out our grandchildren were coming over for Sunday lunch. We haven’t seen them in a while due to camps, trips, etc. and we wanted to have them what they call “Nana’s Surprise”. I know how they love strawberries and blueberries and spotted the pound cake that would make a quick base for something delicious. A Trifle would be different that serving the cake alone. I thought I would video my efforts and just a hint, It was a total success! The children and the grown ups complimented it. The visual is incredible so if you want to have some colorful and tasty visual desserts, Trifle with a Trifle.
Basic ingredients which can be substituted or replaced according to your taste buds and availability in your kitchen. Here is what I assembled:
Fresh strawberries, 2 packages,washed and de-stemmed. I cut mine so they looked like hearts to display on the sides of the bowl.
1 T Karo Syrup (clear)
2 T. Granulated Sugar
A large/high glass bowl to show off the layers.
1 package of fresh blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries
1 large container of Cool Whip or you can make your own whipped cream but I find Cool Whip is easier to spoon over cake.
1/2 or small pound cake cubed into bite size pieces. I used 1/2 of a large cream cheese pound cake but any pound cake will do.
1 pkg of Instant Vanilla Pudding made with ingredients on pkg.
2 T. of strawberry jam (you can use homemade jam or store bought jam)
1 box Lorna Doone Cookies/Crackers with 4-6 cookies crumbled for topping
The video shows how I layered my Trifle but it is not set in stone. Nuts can be added, chocolate pudding, different jam flavor, graham crackers instead of Lorna Doone Cookies and the choices are endless so make it your own. I bought chocolate syrup to pour over it but I can assure you it wasn’t missed. I saved the chocolate syrup for my next surprise.
I used my phone camera as doing the video was a last minute decision. Overlook my amateur videoing. Tip: Using a Tablespoon of Light Karo Syrup to coat fruit prior to sprinkling with sugar makes it stick to the fruit easier.Some of the ingredients I used in the TrifleIf you watched the Jammin’ It Up video, you saw how Missy and I made the Carnival Jam and I used a couple of Tbs. in my vanilla pudding. Oh yeah, it worked great.This is my Taste Tester Group who unanimously gave a big thumbs up. I took the photo before they ate their share and it was large enough even after 4 adults ate too to send some home. It made a huge Trifle. Nana scored a Big YES from these precious children.
Until We Cook Again…..Happy Meals to You!…….Arline Miller
Look for the next video with my special chef Missy Haas who is my daughter and loves to cook as much as me. Reinventing Pickles will be our theme.
(C) Copyright 2012-2021 Arline Miller of Sipping Cups of Inspiration with all rights and privileges reserved. Third party material, if source is known, is listed for credit reference.
Many of you may be experts on making deviled eggs but we thought we would share some ideas we have learned. Remember, we are a Mom and Daughter having a good time in the kitchen. I had tried out a cream cheese deviled egg recipe someone shared and was talking to Missy who thought this would be a good way to show off how devilish we can get with eggs.
The video is lengthy as we go through the whole process with tips on boiling and cracking as well as peeling the eggs. I made the mistake of getting fresh eggs before a family dinner and I was at the point of tears trying to peel them. I have used the ways I show you in the video and haven’t had a failure yet.
Deviled Eggs are a great side/appetizer/snack but keep refrigerated if made ahead of time.These are the cream cheese deviled eggs I made last week.
Cream cheese Eggs: basic recipe will be posted but for 6 eggs (12) with cream cheese softened 2 oz & 1tsp yellow mustard, 1 tsp apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Top with paprika or watch the video for other toppings.
Arline’s Deviled Eggs (Extreme)
Boil 10 eggs (preferable 1 week in fridge eggs) Place in ice bath when boiled.
While eggs are boiling, in a bowl mix the following:
2 T Mayo
1 tsp Bone sucking Mustard (substitutes spicy or yellow mustard)
2 tsp pickle relish
Splash hot sauce more or less (begin with a few drops, add more if desired)
1 tsp or more according to taste EveryDay Seasoning
1 tsp onion salt
Sprinkle dill weed lightly
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Sprinkle lightly spicy paprika
In a food chopper add sweet or bread and butter pickles with 1/3 sweet onion. My pickles have garlic and jalapeños (only put a small amount of garlic & jalapeños) and chop them until small pieces. Add some to mixture in bowl and better to add gradually to avoid getting too much pickles.
Add yolks to this mixture after peeling eggs and separating and placing whites on plate or deviled egg server. Use fork to smash yolks and blend together until creamy. Tip: Add Mayo by Tablespoon at a time. If you need more small amounts as it is easy to get it too soupy but if you do it gradually it will be better.
Place mixture in egg white. Sprinkle Smoked Paprika lightly over eggs. Best to make ahead and place in refrigerator after they are cooled.
Note: Please refer to recipe since in the video I left out the onion salt. Please remember we cook off the cuff so things may change but the key is to figure out what are your favorite seasonings and herbs/spices.
Missy and I had a blast with the eggs and want to move on to how we make simple and fast pickles (I used some in the video and they are delish). Next visit maybe we will do another one for you. I hope you enjoyed this video, apologizing for the long length but we are not pros at videoing, but we sling a good pot in the kitchen together while laughing a bunch.
Until we cook again…..Happy Meals to You…….Arline Miller & Missy Haas
(C) Copyright 2012-2021 Arline Miller of Sipping Cups of Inspiration with all rights and privileges reserved. Third party material is source to original location/author, if known, for credit references.
Have you gotten brave enough to create your own recipes without fear of failure? What’s the worst that can happen if you use flavor common sense? You can improve it the next time if you don’t hit the mark, but what a feeling when you get creative as I did with some skinless, boneless chicken breasts and a big hit of my garden herbs. I thought I would share how I save my fresh herbs with you as well as this easy and delicious Chicken Breasts ala Crusted Herb Spinach Alfredo Bake. Come along and cook with me!
Chicken Breasts with Spinach Herbs and Alfredo Sauce
Arline’s Chicken Breasts ala Crusted Herb Spinach Alfredo Bake
Family pkg of Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts 6-7 in bowl
Add the following to breasts:
Sprinkle Everything Bagel Seasoning
Dried Garden Blend Herbs
Kinders Brown Sugar Rub sprinkle
AR’s Southern Hot Honey rubbed on chicken breasts
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive Oil (light coat)
Seasoned Panko crumbs poured over breasts.
Prepare baking pan with Olive Oil and Butter Spray
Add layer of mixed garden herbs
Place breasts in pan making sure the
Panko Crumbs cover breasts.
Place in 400° oven. As the breasts bake add a little amount of chicken stock if bottom dries out
30 minutes. Take out of oven.
Pour a jar of Alfredo sauce (can make homemade) in between breasts
Saute baby spinach in 1T butter and EVOO each. Add seasoning of preference (everything bagel & garlic salt)
A oiled baking pan and fresh variety of herbs is one of the first steps in prep.
A quick saute of baby spinach with some seasonings and butter/oil too.
The finished dish made a big hit. Isn’t it a pretty display?
I love my fresh herbs and I give my daughter Missy the credit for educating me on how and what herbs and spices (some I hadn’t even heard of with my Southern Cooking Heritage where salt and pepper were the mainstay seasonings. Now, I live to use a different seasoning, some of which I know I mispronounce but sprinkle them freely in my dishes. I found a way to store my freshly clipped herbs, ones I am not using at the time, by laying them out on a paper plate to air dry. See the photo below:
From freshly clipped to dried on plate and then crushed to blend and place in an empty spice jar.
Place herbs in select labeled bags for individual herb usage.
I clip the bags together and hang on the side of my refrigerator for easy access when cooking.
I hope you try a new recipe. Use flavors and seasonings you like and your family enjoy. No one has to cook/bake the same. Not all tries have to be cookbook successes the first time. You will be surprised at the enjoyment when you create a recipe and the family say EXCELLENT!
Until We Cook Again…..Happy Meals to You…..Reinvention Queen, Arline Miller
(C) Copyright 2012-2021 Arline Miller of Sipping Cups of Inspiration with all rights and privileges reserved. Third Party Material is sourced, if known for credit reference.
I am an author, blogger, and I love to cook as the Reinvention Queen but my best title is Mom. My daughter Missy, who you will see in our first, totally shooting from the hip video, joins me in the kitchen. She brought blackberries which grow naturally in her back yard and Georgia peaches grown by her aunt and uncle and we furnished some fresh strawberries from our local produce stand. I have some herbs and we wanted to share how to take homemade jams to a new level incorporating some Thai Basil, Pineapple Mint, and Fresh Ginger.
Missy arrives with a special surprise, her own garden tomato, fresh off the vine.
THESE WILD GEORGIA BLACKBERRIES GROW AT MISSY’S HOME
JAMMIN’ JAMS RECIPES
BLACKBERRY GINGER JAM
6 cups Fruit (Blackberries for the first recipe)
2 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
4 Tbs. Freshly squeezed Lemon juice
1/8 cup thinly sliced ginger (other recipes will use different herbs)
1 pkg Sure Jell (note: if fruit is very juicy, increase Sure Jell by 1/2 pkg.) If fruit is not juicy add the desired water as instructed on pkg.
*Our fruit was so juicy that we didn’t add the water to the Sure Jell and poured directly into fruit mixture.
STRAWBERRY AND PEACHES BASIL JAM
4 CUPS (2 CUPS EACH CHOPPED STRAWBERRIES AND PEACHES)
2 CUPS GRANULATED SUGAR
2 SPRIGS OF GARDEN THAI BASIL (LAY THE SPRIGS ON TOP AND REMOVE BEFORE ADDING SUREJELL
4 TBSP. FRESHLY SQUEEZED LEMON JUICE
1 1/2 PKGS SURE JELL (PEACHES WERE SO JUICY, WE DIDN’T ADD ANY WATER TO SUREJELL.
ALL FRUIT JAM (BLACKBERRIES, PEACHES, AND STRAWBERRIES)
8 CUPS OF COMBINED FRUITS (2 CUPS STRAWBERRIES, 2 CUPS PEACHES, AND 4 CUPS BLACKBERRIES
3 CUPS GRANULATED SUGAR
4 TBS. FRESHLY SQUEEZED LEMON JUICE
2 SPRIGS OF PINEAPPLE MINT (LAY MINT ON TOP AND REMOVE WHEN MIXTURE IS READY BUT BEFORE SURE JELL ADDITION
2 PKGS. SURE JELL WITH NO WATER ADDED.
SURE JELL IS A SURE FIRE WAY TO SET THE JAM’S CONSISTENCY
MISSY MAKES PEELING GINGER A SNAP AND THEN SLICES IT.
Missy’s tip of how to quickly peel ginger: Cut off one end of the root and use the spoon tip and scrape down the side of the root. Easy Peasy.
General notes: We cooked one jam at a time using the ingredients listed for each one. In the video, we don’t go through each step but here is how we prepared the fruit mixture, added surejell, cooking and cooling times and the jars and lids prep. Here is how we did each one and all that was different were the ingredients:
Washed, inspected, cut off bad spots or pulled off any debris or stems, washed fruits and placed in colanders to drain. Chopped into small pieces.
Placed in heavy sauce pan the fruit mixture, the sugar, lemon juice, and selected herbs for each type of jam.
Medium high heat until fruit is soft (we used potato masher to break down the fruit) Usually 7 minutes but watch and stir to make sure fruit doesn’t stick to bottom.
Add Sure Jell to mixture and cook for at least 3 minutes until the fruit liquid becomes thicker.
Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes.
While this is cooking, place your canning jars into a large pot, with water about the height of half the jar’s height with lids/rings around the bottom and in between the jars where there is space. Allow jars to get steamy hot. Remove and place on surface (we placed on large cutting board or you can place on towels)
When fruit mixture has cooled, place into jars using wide neck funnel, and place lids/rings on jars making sure seal is dry and clean, the same on the lip of the jar to avoid the jars not making a complete seal. Replace jars in the pot of hot water to seal them. You should hear them pop when they have sealed and you can press on them and no movement.
Remove and wipe the jars clean. You now have jam which will set with time. You can store in cabinet until you open and break seal but then you should refrigerate them.
This is our All Fruit Jam made with peaches, blackberries & strawberries flavored with Pineapple mint.
Stirring is part of the secret so Spurtles are a handy tool.
We had a blast with fun and laughter and we keep it real for you. We splattered, and washed enough bowls, colanders, and pots but loved seeing the beautiful, delicious results in our cute canning jars. What we like about our jam session is we winged it. Not any formal recipe, deciding the fruit combos with the herbs. Nothing is ever set in stone and use your creativity and go for your favorites. If you like sweet tastes, use more sugar. If you aren’t crazy about a specific herb, try another one or leave them out. The key is to experiment and don’t necessarily cook it like we do…..Make it your own! We certainly do our own thing and want others to do the same.
Until We Cook Again……..Happy Meals To You…… Reinvention Queen with Missy too!
(C) Copyright 2012-2021 Arline Miller of Sipping Cups of Inspiration with all rights and privileges reserved. Third Party Material is sourced, if known to original location/author for credit references.
For Memorial Day Weekend, my husband Greg Miller, smoked the best ribs and we feasted. Now, I wanted to show how you can reinvent them in an easy and quick way.
Arline’s Hot Pockets from Smoked Ribs (can also use other smoked or grilled meats like chicken, turkey, and even leftover steak)
The leftover ribs before I chopped them to bite size pieces. Chopping the ribs into small pieces allows me to have a lot of meat to fill the hot pockets.Cutting up a large sweet onion into rings, slightly thin, and placing into medium saute pan. Add the following ingredients.Add 2 T. EVOO, 1-2 T Worcestershire sauce, 1 t. Hot Southern Honey, and 1 T. Organic Tamari Sauce (can use soy sauce), 1/2 stick butter cubed, salt and pepper to onions in pan. Saute until onions are tender and cooked.When onions are cooked as shown, add cubed rib meat and stir until coated. Turn off heat and let sit while you prepare the biscuits.I used part of a can of Pillsbury Grands Flaky Layers. I cut each biscuit in half height so that each hot pocket is only a half biscuit. I rolled on a floured surface with a rolling pin that had been rubbed in flour until they were the thinness as shown. Placing the meat/caramelized onions mixture in the center and popped some sharp cheddar cheese (other cheeses can be used if preferred. Using my fingertip, I dotted one half of the dough’s edge with water to seal them. Using my fork’s tines, I pressed down on the edges and pricked the tops a few times to allow steam to release. Placing them on a sprayed baking sheet and then into a preheated oven 375 degrees. The package said to make them at 350 but I wanted a crunchy crust. 12 minutes or until they are browned.Here are the hot pockets before they were gobbled up. I only made 8 but had enough dough and mixture to make 16 from one can of biscuits and 4 ribs. You could feed a family easily from your tasty leftovers. My husband made the comment I could open a hot pocket stand from these delicious and quick way to reinvent ribs.
My tips for reinventing leftover meat: As delicious as smoked and/or grilled meats are, if you have a grill master that loves to have a big amount of meat, try to think of ways to present this delightful meat in many different, reinvented ways to have an easy new meal. It will seem entirely different but not taking up all your time in the kitchen and who doesn’t like food in a nicely wrapped package like a hot pocket.
Additional tip: My husband used the bbq sauce Sweet Baby Ray’s and I used some of the sauce I made for the shrimp salad which was over the top for these hot pockets. You can look back at the shrimp salad post for this recipe.
If I don’t get to post the next way to finish off those luscious ribs, and I say they are the best ribs he has made, I will give you a hint. Think of stew beef! I will take and cube the rest of the ribs, add some onions and some broth and seasonings and stew it for only a few minutes. Once I have the onions and rib meat flavors married, I will add two bags of Success Rice and allow them to combine and wallah, a quick new meal in minutes.
I would love to hear from you on how you reinvent a certain leftover. There are more ways to cook than to start all over again. You will change the mind of a person who makes the statement……I hate leftovers….to…..How are you going to reinvent this meal?
Until we Cook Again……Happy Meals……..Reinvention Queen…….Arline Miller
(C) Copyright 2012-2021 Arline Miller of Sipping Cups of Inspiration and Reinvention Queen with all rights and privileges reserved. Third Party Material is sourced, if known, to original location/author for credit reference.
