Adventures in the Kitchen: Strawberry Lemonade (the real stuff!)

I have not had a lot of pregnancy cravings over the past few months, but one thing that has always sounded good, no matter how bad I felt is lemonade. Real lemonade. Not the powder + water kind of lemonade. The kind that has real lemon juice it in. (Like what Chick'fil'A has! yum!) Since our budget does not have room for a daily trip to Chick'fil'A, we have stared making our own lemonade at home. A few weeks ago I decided to try to make strawberry lemonade, and it is quickly becoming my favorite after work treat! Here is what you need: 

Yep. That's all. Lemons, strawberries, sugar....well, those 3 ingredients and water! 

Here is how I've been making my strawberry lemonade. 

(STEP 1) Wash and slice the strawberries into a sauce pan. (Last year I posted a very handy way to slice strawberries that Daniel thought of if you are interested!) I used about 8 strawberries, that equaled about 1 cup when sliced. 

(STEP 2) Add 1 c. white sugar to the strawberries and stir. Let them sit for about 15 - 20 minutes to let the sugar work it's magic and soften the berries as well as draw out some of the juice. 

(STEP 3) While the berries are juicing, slice the lemons in half and juice them into a separate bowl. Since we are making so much lemonade, Daniel go me a citrus juicer! It is so quick and easy, and does a great job of getting all of the juice out of the lemons. I used 3 lemons and got just under 1 cup of lemon juice. 

(STEP 4) Once the strawberries are soft, add 1 cup water to the sauce pan. Stirring continuously, heat the sugar/water/strawberry mixture on medium heat. You want to dissolve all of the sugar, but not boil the mixture. This takes about 5-6 minutes. 

(STEP 5) Once the sugar/water/strawberry mixture (also called a strawberry syrup) has cooled, blend it (an a blender or using a stick blender) and strain out the seeds with a wire strainer. 

(STEP 6) Combine lemon juice and strawberry syrup in a pitcher and add 6 cups of water and some ice. Stir well and you have yourself a nice refreshing pitcher of strawberry lemonade. 

**Taste and see if you want more lemon in it - some days I like mine a little less sweet and a little more tart - so I will add the juice of 1 or 2 more lemons. Or if you like yours a little stronger, add only 5 cups of water instead of 6. 

Strawberry Lemonade

Ingredients 

1 c. slice strawberries

1 c. white sugar

1 c. fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 c. + 6 c. water

1) Slice strawberries in sauce pan. 

2) Add sugar to strawberries, stir and let sit for 15-20 minutes

3) Juice 3 - 4 lemons

4) Add 1 c. water to sugar and strawberries. Cook on stove top over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until sugar is all dissolved. Cool mixture. 

5) Blend and strain strawberry syrup.

6) In a pitcher, stir well to combine lemon juice, strawberry syrup, and 6 cups water. Serve over ice.