The first time I ever tried Strawberry Lemonade was at Chilis. I went to dinner once with friends, and in the many times we went there as college students, I never noticed the drink before until the waitress mentioned it. I really thought it would be a disgusting Hi-C drink, but when the waitress bought it out, it contained strawberry puree. I was in love. I’m sure it had 900 calories a glass, but it was just SO good and sweet! Now, I don’t go to Chilis as much anymore, but whenever I end up there, I have to have it! I’m sure some of y’all are judging me for liking something at Chilis, but just give me a little slack here. 🙂 I think the last time we ate at Chilis was several months ago…it’s definitely not a place we frequent.
A while back, I saw this recipe for homemade strawberry lemonade. I waited until strawberry season came around, bought a bag of lemons, and made a pitcher of the stuff. Let’s just say I had three glasses of this in a row that evening. This stuff is GOOD and super easy to make!
Homemade Strawberry Lemonade
Source: My Baking AddictionIngredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups of water, divided
- 1 pint fresh strawberries
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 8-9 small lemons)
- 4-6 cups cold water (I used 5 cups)
Directions:
- In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Make a simple syrup by heating and occasionally stirring the mixture on medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Allow the mixture to fully cool before doing the other steps.
- Puree the strawberries in a blender or food processor with 1/2 cup of water.
- In a large pitcher, add the strawberry puree, cooled simple syrup and lemon juice. Stir the mixture until everything is well-mixed.
- Add 4 cups of cold water and taste. If you feel the lemonade needs more water, add it a cup at a time until the lemonade tastes great to you!
Stir the lemonade really well and serve it over ice.
Note: It lasted about 2 days in the fridge (since I finished the pitcher by then), but it may last longer.