Strawberry Sangria

I love sangria....any kind of sangria. I came across this recipe at a friend's party, and just had to share it. Enjoy!

8 cups fresh strawberries, trimmed and halved
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 750 ml bottle white wine
2 cups sparkling water, chilled
1 orange, sliced
1 lime, cut into thin wedges
additional stawberries, sliced

Instructions:

1. Prepare syrup-in large saucepan, combine strawberries, sugar and water. Bring just to boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat, cover, and cool to room temerature.
2. Once cooled, press mixture (a little at a time) through a mesh sleeve, the discard solids. You should be left with about 3 cups of syrup.
3. In a 2 quart pitcher, stir together the syrup, wine, and fruit. Cove and chill up to 24 hours.
4. Before serving, stir in sparkling water. Serve in glasses, making sure to have some fruit in each glass.

***8 (8 oz) servings

Strawberry Salad

This is a very light, healthy salad, that everyone will love.

Ingredients:

6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
2 cups cubed fresh pineapple
1 banana, sliced
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup cream of coconut
2 tbl lemon juice
1 tbl yellow mustard
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Directions:

1. In a very large bowl, toss together the romaine, strawberries, pineapple, and banana. If you make ahead, you can cover tightly and chill for up to 1 hour.
2. For dressing, in small bowl, whisk together the water, cream of coconut, lemon juice, mustard and ginger. To make ahead, mix together, cover and chill for up to 3 days.
3. To serve, toss romaine/fruit mixture with dressing to coat. Sprinkle with almonds.


***6-8 servings