My husband, mother-in-law, and I all thought this was a great recipe. I had yellow squash on hand so I used that instead of zucchini. Also used nacho flavored shredded cheese which included a mixture of monterey jack and cheddar. It did not make this dish spicy or have a Mexican flavor at all (I thought it might give it a Mexican flair but you couldn't even tell, which was fine, it was still delicious). I turned up the heat to 375 after 25 minutes at 350 and baked for an additional 10-12 minutes on the top rack (started on the middle rack) and it came out perfectly cooked.

Reviewed On: Oct. 11, 2009

So good. I am so happy I did not take my aunt's suggestion and just buy pre-made sangria from the liquor store! The only variation from the original recipe was that I did not use pineapples - just didn't think it sounded that good. I soaked the fruit in the brandy overnight - whoa! Strong!!! I think I was buzzed after just a few sips (although I was munching on the fruit too so that might have had something to do with it). I also took some of the other reviewers' suggestion to top off each glass with the lemon-lime soda. This worked well not only to ensure the fizz, but also allowed people to dilute the sangria (or not) to their individual taste. My father-in-law kept going for glass after glass... he preferred his without soda!

Reviewed On: Aug. 9, 2009

Made this for a lazy Sunday dinner tonight, and am so glad I did. It was wonderful. I used 2 lb. boneless short ribs (just cooking for two) and let them simmer for about 2.5 hours. Meat was so tender and the whole dish was incredibly flavorful. I used unsalted beef broth so I could control the salt to taste. Generously seasoned the meat prior to dredging in flour to ensure a nice crust on the meat when searing. This was a very simple dish to make, I'll rely on it going forward for comfort meals and even for company. I really didn't change anything other than to add some hot red pepper flakes in the olive oil when searing to give it a little heat, and also I didn't have any parsley so I left out that ingredient. Didn't miss it.

Reviewed On: Aug. 9, 2009