Sparkling Apple Cider Punch (No-Alcohol, Life with Kids Version)

Ingredients

• Motts pre-sliced apples (8 slices)
• POM pomegranate juice (8 ounces)
• Pure Leaf green tea, unsweetened (6 ounces)
• Alpine instant spiced apple cider (3 packets)
• Drinking Water (18 ounces)
• Canada Dry Ginger Ale (16 ounces)

Takes 15 min, serves 8.

Instructions

1. Fill small round ice cube tray with pomegranate juice, freeze
2. Microwave 18 ounces of drinking water in a microwave-safe container 2 minutes or until bubbling
3. Dissolve 3 packets of instant spiced apple cider and stir into hot water. Can substitute 24 ounces of store-bought mulled apple cider; if substituing, do not heat.
4. Allow apple cider to come to room temperature
5. Refrigerate apple cider, green tea, and gingerale until chilled.
6. Combine green tea, apple cider, and gingerale in a gallon serving jug
7. Add at least one pomegranate ice cube to each serving glass, fill with punch and garnish with an apple slice

This is an adaptation of Maureen Petrosky's Sangria recipe, see below. We substituted pre-sliced apples for match-sticks, because we already have them on-hand, because they are already treated to resist oxidizing...and because we don't have time to cut apples into match-sticks. We substituted pomegranate ice cubes for pomegranate seeds because we don't want special little people or special elder people to choke on pomegranate seeds, and because we don't have time for pomegranate seeds. We substituted instant apple cider because this stuff is amazing; keep it in your pantry year-round and drink a whole box when you have a cold. And we substituted green tea and ginger ale for the booze, not that we have anything against booze. We promise to take our own photo of the new recipe as soon as we can, you know, make time.