Pomegranate Moscato Sangria

Alcohol free Pomegranate Moscato Sangria. That right no alcohol……..

Pomegranate Moscato Sangria

As a recovering alcoholic, I miss certain types of drinks in certain situations. I always enjoyed a glass of wine with a meal, a margarita with Mexican food, and Sangria on a warm summer evening.

Stopping my use of alcohol was the best thing I have ever done for myself. I could not have succeed without the help of my wonderful husband. Tim has helped me to achieve and maintain my sobriety for the last 6 1/2 years.

Pomegranate Moscato Sangria

In search of a non-alcoholic version of popular drinks, or mocktails as they are commonly referred. I came across a company that makes alcohol free wines. Sangria was back!

FRE is America’s #1 alcohol-removed wine brand.
Fre Wines are produced by Sutter Home Winery, one of America’s most trusted wine brands. Originally founded in the late 1800’s, Sutter Home Winery was purchased by the Trinchero Family in 1947. Today, Sutter Home is one of the few remaining family-owned and operated wineries in Napa Valley.

Pomegranate Moscato Sangria

Summer time is the perfect time for Sangria. Fruity and refreshing or at least my Pomegranate Moscato Sangria is…….

I really winged it on this recipe. After finding the FRE Moscato I went to ……you guessed it, my favorite place on earth…….the grocery store!!

Pomegranate Moscato Sangria

I spent a long time in the produce section, gazing at fruits……what did I want? Well……I kinda bought some of everything. I didn’t use it all, but I had a large variety to chose from. The cool thing about Sangria is you can make it your own using different fruits and wines…….so go crazy.

In the produce section I came across pomegranates, the little red seeds, also called arils, would make a pretty addition to my sangria. Pomegranates can be intimidating, especially the peeling and seeding. I came across a blog post at Simply Recipes that is perfect. It shows step by step how to cut and seed the pomegranate.

Pomegranate Moscato Sangria

A mixture of oranges, lemons, limes, and fresh pineapple….yummy! I picked up pomegranate juice for the extra flavor and color.

Making sangria is really fairly simple. First, cut your fruit and place it in a decorative pitcher……..it must look pretty after all!

Pomegranate Moscato Sangria

Top the fruit with the wine, and I added the pomegranate juice at this point. Let the mixture set in the frig for a couple of hours. Gives the fruit a chance to soak up the flavor of the wine, and for the wine to absorb the flavor of the fruit.

To serve, I found some really nice big wine goblets……bonus, they were plastic. You know summer time, outdoors, glass, cement…….not good. The gal at the store started to get paper to wrap them until she discovered they were plastic…..lol.

Pomegranate Moscato Sangria

Ice, the wine fruit mixture, and then the other friend of non-drinkers Sparkling White Grape Juice. Welch’s has a variety of these tasty, bubbly drinks. Perfect for the non-drinker to celebrate and enjoy.
Top the Pomegranate Moscato Sangria with a splash of the sparkling white grape juice and garnish with fruit…….beautiful!

Pomegranate Moscato Sangria

For your next summer get together, or just because it’s summer, make pitcher of
Pomegranate Moscato Sangria and enjoy!

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Pomegranate Moscato Sangria

  • Author: Marty Boyd

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 – bottle FRE Moscato
  • 1 – bottle Sparkling White Grape Juice
  • 1/2 lime, sliced
  • 1/2 lemon, sliced
  • 1/2 orange, sliced
  • 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
  • 1/2 cup pomegranate arils
  • 18 ounce bottle pomegranate juice

Instructions

  1. Place cut fruit into a pitcher.
  2. To the fruit, in the pitcher add the Moscato and the pomegranate juice.
  3. Refrigerate for at least two hours.
  4. To serve place ice into glasses. Pour wine mixture mixture over ice. Top with sparkling grape juice and garnish with extra fruit.

 

Middle Eastern Chicken Couscous Wrap

Middle Eastern Chicken Couscous Wrap

Middle Eastern Chicken Couscous Wrap

We had company this past Sunday. Our niece Linzy brought her beautiful daughter Lily to meet us. She is a sweet and precious little girl. We had a great time with her and look forward to seeing her again.They will be here all summer and her brother Jayden will be joining them soon…….the lucky ducks live in Hawaii, but are here for the summer.

Tim-Marty-Lily

 

We invited them for lunch, so it was an opportune time to try out a new recipe. I have been wanting to make a Middle Eastern dish for some time. Since it was lunch, I thought a sandwich or a wrap would be nice. I decided on a wrap. I used Naan bread, if you haven’t tried it you really should, it’s like pita bread, but It has a softer texture and it’s a bit bigger than a pita. Being softer allows you to fold it much easier, and of course you can add a bit more filling.

Middle Eastern Chicken Couscous Wrap 1

Chicken is always a safe bet, because after all who doesn’t like chicken? Marinating the chicken in a spicy yogurt mixture made it flavorful and juicy. The couscous was an added flavor layer using olives, pistachios, sun dried tomatoes, a bit of spinach, some cilantro and pomegranate. I did cheat with the couscous, it comes frozen at my local grocery store, so all I had to do was heat it up in the microwave and add it to the other ingredients. Also it is the pearl couscous which I happen to like better………it’s something about the texture.

Tahini………I have never used or tasted it before, but in all my research about Middle Eastern cuisine it gets mentioned…….a lot. I added lemon juice, garlic,olive oil, and a bit of yogurt, I thought it would add a creamy texture…….not so much, but it still had a really good flavor.

The best thing was, that I was able to prepare it all ahead of time, and just reheat everything and warm the Naan bread, and lunch was served. I let everyone assemble their own, having extra, cilantro, pistachios, and pomegranate to top, and goat cheese if you wished. Truth is I forgot the goat cheese,being so excited about baby Lily. Next time I will remember as I think it would add one more great tasting element.

We all enjoyed the Middle Eastern Chicken Couscous Wrap and I was glad my test subjects enjoyed the visit and the meal!

I will plan another get together soon and see what other ethnic meal I can try……….hmmmmm.

Middle Eastern Chicken Couscous Wrap Collage

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Middle Eastern Chicken Couscous Wrap

Middle Eastern Chicken Couscous Wrap

  • Author: Marty Boyd
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 8 Wraps 1x
  • Category: Sandwich
  • Method: Cook
  • Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Ingredients

Scale
  • Chicken
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken, sliced into strips
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Couscous
  • 1 bag frozen pearl couscous, cooked
  • 1 cup spinach, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/3 cup oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and sliced, reserve 1-2 tablespoons of the oil
  • 1/3 cup kalamata olives, sliced
  • 1/3 cup roasted shelled pistachios, chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 3 tablespoons pomegranate arils
  • Tahini Spread
  • 1/2 cup tahini
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoon greek yogurt
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 48 pieces of Naan bread for serving
  • Goat cheese, chopped cilantro, chopped pistachios and pomegranate arils for garnish

Instructions

  1. To marinate the chicken. In a medium bowl combine the olive oil, greek, yogurt, ginger, garlic, pepper, cumin, crushed red pepper, cayenne and cinnamon. Add the chicken and toss well. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  2. To make the couscous. Cook according to package directions. Stir in the spinach, honey, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and sundries tomato oil, pistachios, cilantro salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm. Just before serving stir in the pomegranate arils.
  3. To make the Tahini Sauce. In a small bowl whisk together the tahini, olive oil, garlic, greek yogurt, lemon and a pinch of salt and pepper until smooth. Set aside until ready to use.
  4. Heat a large skillet over high heat and add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. When hot remove the chicken from the marinade and shake off just a little of the excess. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook for 4-6 minutes or until cooked through.
  5. To assemble the wraps, warm the Naan bread,spread a little of the tahini sauce down the center of the warmed naan. Add the couscous and chicken and then top with crumbled goat cheese. Garnish with chopped cilantro, more pistachios and pomegranate arils.

Notes

Everything can be prepared ahead of time and warmed just prior to serving.

Keywords: chicken, yogurt, spices, naan bread, couscous, pomegranate, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach