Happy Thirsty Thursday, everyone!

Work week got you down?  Thinking that the three day weekend we had only three days ago is now just a figment of your imagination?  Ready to kick off the weekend grad school style?  (I have to say grad school instead of college, since I think the college weekend began on Wednesday.)

Well, have no fear: Thirsty Thursday is here!!  It's almost time to kick off from work for the day (although you lucky East Coasters may already be on your way), so let's have a virtual sip with an awesome summer beverage that is easy to make, and quite simply refreshing...

The Sparkling Sangria!

Ingredients for fun!

I have to admit, this recipe took me a little longer to make than necessary, because I was trying to preserve my manicure, which made peeling the fruits difficult.  However, the fruits of my labor (haha) were well worth it.

The recipe calls for non-alcoholic red wine.  I went fully loaded (the Barefoot Sweet Red is on sale at the Jewels/Albertsons), and threw in an extra orange for good measure.  I also used the Splenda Sugar Blend equivalent (2 TBS) instead of sugar (1/4 C), and Sprite Zero.  This doesn't make this a diet drink by any stretch of the imagination, especially when two people drink the whole batch, but I have to imagine that it helps a little.

Also, you're supposed to let the fruit sit in the alcohol for 3-4 hours, but dinner only took an hour to create.  I'm sure it would be even more impressive if I didn't have the patience of a two year old crack baby.

That's all I have for this week, but I have a few other drink recipes I'm dying to try out.  Until then,

Cheers!