![](\"https:\/\/www.simplyrecipes.com\/thmb\/jlvU9rBRp4q2tW7Sj-CPwTKzZ3I=\/4737x3158\/Simply-Recipes-Valentines-Cocktail-LEAD-Option-02-7c332ed84f644501b25596cab7e491b4.jpg\")
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I\u2019ve never been that into Valentine\u2019s. I\u2019ve been lucky enough to have lots of people I love in my life, but I think middle school really ruined it for me.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
A group at school (was it yearbook staff?) would sell carnations as a fundraiser, and kids could buy them to send to other kids during first period on Valentine\u2019s Day. White flowers meant something I can\u2019t remember, pink meant friendship, and red meant wink wink, more than friends. Us all being in middle school, there weren\u2019t many red carnations going around, but when one did show up, everyone<\/em> in the room would woo. So embarrassing.\n<\/p>\n I got a red carnation or two, and it sent me into a tailspin. I guess some girls would be flattered, but I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. When a boy showed up at my front door with a stuffed bear and a balloon in 7th grade, I nearly passed out from anxiety. I sweat just thinking about it.\n<\/p>\n Now that I\u2019m married, my husband and I refuse to battle the rest of the city\u2019s couples for a Valentine\u2019s dinner reservation, so we make ourselves a nice meal at home and eat candy. This obviously involves a celebratory drink, and I\u2019ve come up with the perfect cocktail this year. It\u2019s so easy and so affordable that I\u2019ll be making it all month long for brunch with friends, happy hour, and more.\n<\/p>\n Simply Recipes \/ Laurel Randolph<\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n A quick trip to Trader Joe\u2019s and about $10 to $15 are all you need to make six to eight cocktails. They\u2019re ready in the time it takes you to pour out two ingredients. Bonus points for a garnish, but it\u2019s in no way required.\n<\/p>\n The first ingredient is a dry sparkling wine. I go for Prosecco here, and I especially like the Mionetto Prosecco that is typically available at my Trader Joe\u2019s for $12.99. It\u2019s dry, really bubbly, and great for a cocktail like this. Regardless of the brand, look for a dry sparkling white wine (brut). Trader Joe\u2019s brand prosecco is pretty good, and it\u2019s just $9 a bottle.\n<\/p>\n The second ingredient is a longtime favorite TJ\u2019s item of mine\u2014their Villa Italia Blood Orange Soda ($3.49). This stuff comes in a glass bottle and is plain delicious, but I like it even better mixed with sparkling wine. The citrus and sweetness of the soda accentuate those notes in the wine, and the dryness of the wine balances out the soda. It\u2019s a match made in heaven.\n<\/p>\n The result is a pleasantly pink, just fruity enough, just dry enough, just bubbly enough cocktail. It\u2019s low ABV enough for a daytime occasion like brunch, but it\u2019s celebratory enough for nighttime.\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It couldn\u2019t be simpler. To make six generous cocktails or eight smaller ones, set out the appropriate number of flutes, wine glasses, or tumblers. Fill each glass 1\/3 full with the chilled blood orange soda. Top with chilled prosecco or other dry sparkling wine. If you\u2019re feeling fancy, garnish the glasses with an orange peel twist.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Serve immediately and cheers to your loved ones.\n<\/p>\n Simply Recipes \/ Laurel Randolph<\/p>\n <\/span> #2Ingredient #Trader #Joes #Cocktail #Making #February #Long<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019ve never been that into Valentine\u2019s. I\u2019ve been lucky enough to have lots of people I love in my life, but I think middle school really ruined it for me.\u00a0 A group at school (was it yearbook staff?) would sell carnations as a fundraiser, and kids could buy them to send to other kids during […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":396,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[413,414,415,133,241,239,157],"class_list":["post-395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dinner","tag-2ingredient","tag-cocktail","tag-february","tag-joes","tag-long","tag-making","tag-trader"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Two Magical Ingredients <\/span> <\/h2>\n
How To Make My 2-Ingredient Trader Joe\u2019s Cocktail <\/span> <\/h2>\n
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