Pineapple Mango Salsa-absolutely amazing!

So while I love all fruit, two of my top favorites are  mangos and pineapple (I’m a sucker for anything tropical).  I think it may have something to with the fact they take for ever to cut that I feel like I must be getting something good once it’s peeled and sliced and ready to eat.

Well, not only did I buy a pineapple this week but I bought six mangos.  I have always been one to buy ingredients first then find a recipe to fit them later, I know most people work the other way around.  Next, I bought some mint and cilantro plants while I was buying some  plants for outside and seeds to make a garden.  Hummm, what does one do with pineapple, mango, mint and cilantro….ahhh, salsa of course!

Next was scouring the internet for the perfect pineapple mango salsa.  As always, I gather no less than three recipes, I scan them and then use only the ingredients I like, in the ratio I like, to make the recipe MY own.  This is what I came up with.

(FYI this makes a large quantity-enough for a party, half the recipe if you don’t want to be eating salsa for a week.  I don’t mind because I will be eating it with fish, chicken, steak, chips and shrimp happily for a week!)

Pineapple Mango Salsa

1 pineapple

2 mangos

1/2 cup sweet red pepper

1/2 of a red onion

1 tomato

4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (some people hate cilantro, you can either limit it drastically or omit completely)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint (again, if you don’t like mint feel free to omit it)

Juice of 3 limes

Everyhing diced finely (Warning: It took me almost an hour to make this, it will be on my list of things to do once a year)

*I omitted jalapeno peppers, you could add one if you wish.  You could also substitute some of the lime juice for lemon juice.  If you don’t want to use red onion you can use green onion.  You can add some salt and pepper as well if you like.  I am the queen of substitutions and hardly ever follow a recipe exactly, always modifying it to what I like. 

The end result….

Delicious, Refreshing Sangria…just in time for spring!

Now that the weather is getting warm….finally.  I am already daydreaming about evenings on the deck firing up the grill, and of course relaxing with a cocktail after a long day at work.

The three cocktails that come to mind when the warm weather hits are sangria, margaritias, and mohitos!  Today we are focusing on the sangria…of course there will be later posts on the latter two:)

Sangria is so easy to make, and the combinations to experiment with are endless.  Since its more like a fruity punch, even people who are not big wine drinkers are sure to be pleased.

Ingredients

Wine– I usually start with a large 1.5 L bottle because I am either making it for a crowd or to last almost a week with the fruit marinating.  You can use any wine you wish…while red is the most common to mix with sangria I also find white to be very refreshing on a warm day.

 1/2 cup Triple Sec- this is to add a little bit of a fruity flavor, if you do not want to add the extra alcohol you could substitute orange juice or omit it all together

Fruit- Apples and Oranges are always the staples in my sangria and I usually add a third, can be peaches, pears, or I have even used frozen mango chunks.  The possibilities are really endless and really up to your preference

1 cup diet sprite you can add up to 2 cups if you want a less alcoholic and lighter drink but I like to just use a little bit to add that sparkling feel to the drink.  You can obviously use regular sprite or even ginger ale. 

Allow fruit to marinate overnight or at least throughout the day. 

The best sangria is not served right away but after the fruit has had time to flavor the wine.

Finally, enjoy!  I know I myself am looking forward to many spring and summer nights ahead with a glass of fruity refreshing goodness:)