End-of-Summer Peach Sangrias

Can you believe summer is almost over?

I feel like I was just seeing graduation pictures and “so ready for summer” status updates yesterday.

But… we now exactly one week until the official start of fall. And as much as I love bright leaves, sweaters and pumpkin coffee, I’m also going to miss pool time, flip-flops and peaches.

(Just kidding. I live in the South, and we wear flip-flops year-round.)

And with all the recent pumpkin recipes popping up around Pinterest and Facebook, it definitely feels like summer is being prematurely nudged out of the picture to make room for fall foods.

Anyway, I digress.

Summer is still sticking around for a few more days, and peaches are still in some stores (and maybe even a few fruit stands). And, if we’re being completely honest, one of the best ways to eat a peach (or any other fruit) is to booze it up first.

Wine? That’s a given. Peach schnapps? Don’t mind if I do.

And don’t forget the fizzy water. (Please tell me I’m not the only one who calls sparkling water “fizzy water.”)

I have to be honest, these sangria turned out to be a bit stronger than I anticipated. But the simple syrup and natural sugar from the fruit totally mask the taste. Sweet ignorance. Delish.

So grab some peaches and a bottle of wine and drink up. ‘Cause summer ain’t over just yet.

But, seriously, hurry. Before pumpkins and butternut squash take over.

Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle (750 mL) sweet white wine, chilled (such as Moscato)
• 2 cups sparkling water, chilled (such as Perrier)
• 3 fresh, just-ripe peaches (make sure they aren’t over-ripe)
• 2-3 ounces simple syrup, depending on your preference (1 cup water, 1 cup granulated sugar; recipe below)
• 2 ounces peach liqueur or peach shnapps

What to do:

Make your simple syrup by placing the water and the sugar in a small saucepan. Boil the sugar and water over medium-high heat until the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the syrup to completely cool before using.

While the simple syrup is cooling, prepare your other ingredients.

Peel 2 1/2 of the peaches. Be sure to leave the peel on the remaining half peach, since it will be used as garnish. Cut peeled peaches into eighths (the peeled half peach should be cut into four slices). Place peeled, sliced peaches in a 1-gallon pitcher.

Pour wine, sparkling water and peach liqueur over the peaches. Stir.

Check on your simple syrup. Once it has cooled, add it to the pitcher with the other ingredients. Stir again.

Grab the peach slices with the peel still intact. Serve the sangria in large wine glasses. Garnish each with a slice of peach.

Enjoy!

Noms 02.11.2013

The last meal plan Josh and I made didn’t go as well as we originally thought. We ended up running super low on ingredients for full meals before the end of last week. But I feel like this week went a little better.

Also, I totally forgot to make any of the snacks I planned, so some of them are going back on the list this week.

Here are some of the meals we have planned for the next two weeks:

The Meals:

• Pizza
• Eggs and Pancakes
• Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Roast Dinner
• Slow Cooked Brunswick Stew
• Baked Chicken Tenders
• Cheeseburger Pasta
• Create-Your-Own Nachos

The Sides:

• Garlic Fries
• Spanish Rice
• Cornbread

The Snacks:

• Snacky Black Beans
• Veggies
• Fruit

Notes on the past two weeks:

The crepes were just awesome and so easy to make. I tried them with spinach, mushrooms and honey goat cheese but wasn’t a huge fan. Josh loved filling them with chicken and topping them with sugar-free syrup. I ate the leftovers plain, some of them cold. (It’s my favorite way to eat leftover pancakes too.) I’m a total weirdo. I know.

The cowboy pot roast didn’t happen. The night I wanted to make that for dinner, we ended up eating chicken tortilla soup instead, which was delish. Josh looooved it (it’s his favorite canned soup, so of course I had to try it homemade), so I’ll probably make it again soon. While I definitely recommend making this, I’d suggest prepping everything the night before; doing that saved my night.

And the lemony tuna and olive oil pasta was okay. I liked the taste, but it was pretty dry. And Josh tried his best to eat it, but he couldn’t even finish a serving of it. And it was a lot more effort than I expected. So that’s probably not happening again.

Keep an eye on Instagram for photo updates of the meals I have planned!

Noms 01.14.2012

Josh and I made a quick trip to the grocery store this weekend without much time for meal-planning, so the next couple of weeks will likely be quick fixes (grilled chicken or fish, frozen leftovers, sandwiches and so on). I’m not even sure I have all the ingredients for the meals I did plan (and I’m only realizing this today… ugh).

Anyway, here are some of the meals we’ve planned:

• Turkey Chili with cornbread
• Baked BBQ Chicken Tenders
• Chicken Fajitas with Spanish rice and black beans
• Skillet Gnocchi with Chard and White Beans
• Turkey Burgers
• Scrambled Egg Muffin Sliders (for a grab-and-go breakfast)

I also think it’s important to have some light snacks on hand so we don’t gorge (what a gross word) at mealtime or resort to overly-processed vending machine snacks.

Here are some snacks I have planned:

• Fruit slices (I’m going to try the salt or lemon trick to keep them from browning, so I can have them ready for us to grab on our way out the door.)
• Veggies
• Hummus (I’m debating whether I should make some or just buy it.)
• Peanut Butter-Yogurt Dip
• Trail Mix (I make these in single-serve zipper bags so I can customize them to what each of us wants.)

(If you’re interested in how any of this turns out, you can bet I’ll be posting food pics to Instagram.)

Workouts last week were a bust, but I’m hoping to stick it out this week. (I ended up doing yoga through a migraine Thursday night and Saturday morning, and it was so worth it–for those few moments, I felt at least kind of better.)

I still plan to stick with the yoga DVD for now. I’m really enjoying it, and changing which segment I use is enough of a change to keep it feeling fresh for now.

Are you trying any new recipes or workouts this week?