4th of July: 2 Recipes to Share!

Joel and I had friends over yesterday to watch TV and fireworks yesterday. Everyone loved the sangria and I loved the rotini salad that I made. So here are the recipes to share.

Sangria
(This is an approximate recipe - I've never bothered to actually measure out what I'm doing.)
1 bottle (750 mL) of red wine
1-2 cups of brandy, or to taste
1 liter of orange soda
2 cups frozen berries (plus any other fruits you'd like to add)

Mix all together. Chill.

Rotini Salad
1 box (16 oz.) rotini
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. black pepper
4 Tbsp. capers
1 can artichoke hearts (quartered)
12 oz. cherry tomatoes (quartered)
1 cup finely chopped basil
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water.

Prepare the dressing by combining pasta cooking water, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and peppers. Mix well and set aside.

Combine remaining ingredients, pasta, and dressing; toss gently. Serve warm or cold.

The original recipe that I worked off was off the Barilla box, but I didn't really want to add tuna, and I HATE olives, so I doctored the recipe a bit, and it was so tasty!