Hot Summers Need an Easy Homemade Lemonade Recipe.

There is absolutely nothing like fresh squeezed lemonade. It is so distinct that you can immediately tell when someone has taken the extra time to make it. It's one of my favorite things to serve at parties and trust me--- it's always a hit. In my experience people really notice and respond to fresh ingredients especially fresh lemonade.

However, it can be a lot of work to squeeze lemons.

A lot of work.

That's why I bought the KitchenAid Juicer attachment. It fits right into my KitchenAid Stand Mixer (one of my favorite appliances of all time). It really is amazing. What used to take me nearly an hour to squeeze takes me 10 minutes. And it really gets EVERYTHING out of the fruit.

You can't see it so well in this picture, but there is a little basket that sits in the bottom of the juicer which catches all the pulp and seeds. So amazing! If you are juicing a lot, then you'll have to empty the basket a couple of times, but it is well worth it.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who already has a KitchenAid Mixer because it's my favorite attachment!

I bought mine here: KitchenAid JE Citrus Juicer Stand Mixer Attachment It was a little cheaper and it has free shipping! Yay! I'd really recommend it!

Today I was having some of my cousins over for supper so we could meet my youngest's cousins boyfriend. I think it's best to throw a potential spouse right into the crazy so they know what they are in for! Right?! Right.

I decided to make a double batch which would probably be around eight to ten glasses, but for recipe purposes I'll tell you how to make a single batch (4-5 glasses).

What You Will Need:

3/4 c - 1c sugar (this will depend on how sweet or tart you want it)
1 1/2 c water
6 lemons juiced (approx 1 - 1.5 cup)
2-3 c water (this will depend on how lemony you want it)

On medium low heat put 1 1/2 cups of water in a pot and add 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar. I like mine more tart so I use less sugar. If you like it sweet then I'd suggest adding a full cup.

Stir until dissolved. Remove from heat.

Juice all the lemons hopefully using your super easy juicing attachment.

I took this picture after juicing 4 lemons with my juicer attachment! Impressive, right? You can see how much juice I got AND how clean the lemons are.  I know I'm beating a dead horse, but I seriously love it.

After you juice all your lemons, then place it into a serving container or pitcher. Add 2-3 cups of cold water and 1/2 to 3/4 of the water-syrup mixer, stir and then taste test. It's always better to add too little than too much because you can always add more!

Here are some other recipe variations that you can try that I LOVE....

STRAWBERRY LEMONADE:

I have also made strawberry lemonade using the same base. I simply add 3/4 to 1 pint of strawberries. Just blend them in a food processor or blender with 1/2 cup of additional water. If you don't like the pulp you can strain them if you like, but I prefer it without straining.

SPIKED LEMONADE:

Add 1 cup of vodka to the base recipe or to the strawberry lemonade recipe.

LIMEADE:

Use the same base as above, but use limes instead of lemons. 8 limes will get you around 1 cup of lime juice.

I also like to throw in the lime zest as well for a little extra punch.

WATERMELON LIMEADE:

Use the lemonade base above. Use 3 lbs of cubed watermelon which have been blended with 1/2 cup of water (just like in the strawberry lemonade recipe). You have to strain the watermelon-- I use cheese cloth and let it sit for 10-15 minutes over a bowl to drain then I squeeze it just to make sure I get all the yummy goodness out. And then I add it to the limeade base and an additional 1/2 cup of water.