Cranberry Pomegranate Holiday Sangria

As soon as I saw this vibrant sangria on Pinterest, I pinned it right to my Thanksgiving board where I stashed a bunch of recipes I planned to use this year.  Normally I'd wait until next year to post something Thanksgiving-related, but I think this would fit in quite nicely on your December holiday menu as well.

When I went to the liquor store to get the wine for this, I picked up an "Apple Cider" wine.  It tasted a bit too sweet for me on its own, but in this sangria it was perfect.  There was not a drop left by the end of the meal!

Cranberry Pomegranate Holiday Sangria
from Deep South Dish

• 1 (750 ml) bottle of red zinfandel
• 4 cups of cranberry juice
• 2 cups of POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
• 1 cup of orange juice
• 3/4 cup of simple syrup
• 1 apple, unpeeled, cored, quartered & sliced thin
• 1 orange, halved and sliced thin
• 1 lemon, halved and sliced thin
• 1/2 cup of fresh cranberries
• 1/4 cup of pomegranate seeds
• San Pellegrino sparkling water

Combine all of the ingredients in an extra large storage container, taste and adjust flavors to your liking. Chill at least 4 hours or overnight. Stir before serving and transfer to pitchers or pour by the glass. Use a pair of tongs to extract some of the fruit for each glass, add ice to each glass, and fill glasses, leaving about an inch of free space at the top. Top each glass off with a splash of Pellegrino and lightly stir.

Note from the source: The color for this sangria comes primarily from the juices, so you can use either red or white. Use any good wine that you prefer. I used a red zinfandel, but other good choices include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja, Shiraz, or Beaujolais.

Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce

Hey, blogging world!  I have been way too absent lately and I'm hoping to change that soon.  Work is crazy, my kids are busy, and we're entering "the holidays" which, as awesome as they are, makes my to-do list grow exponentially.  I keep saying I just need to find my groove, but... well, I'm still waiting...

This is a recipe that I made for the first time last Thanksgiving and I've been waiting since then to post it.  I've always just done cranberry sauce from a can, and you have to admit that it's pretty good.  However, I've always wanted to try a fresh version, so I was happy to see that The Pioneer Woman posted a recipe that looked unique, easy, and delicious.

This was just sweet enough without being overpowering.  I loved the healthy addition of pomegranate sauce, and I especially loved the fact that I could make it in the morning and let it chill all day.  Any recipe that can be done in advance scores some serious bonus points from me!

We host a crowd of 20+, so I doubled the recipe below.  You can bet that it will be back on my table this year!

Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce
from The Pioneer Woman

• 1 bag (about 12 To 16 Oz) Fresh Cranberries
• 16 ounces, fluid Pomegranate Juice
• 3/4 cups Sugar, More Or Less To Taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Mixture will thicken as it cooks, and will thicken more as it cools.

Cool in a jar or bowl in the fridge. Serve with Thanksgiving turkey.