Showing posts with label fruit infused drinks. Show all posts

Easy Homemade Lemonade


One of my favorite childhood memories is making fresh squeezed lemonade... OK, If I'm going to be real here, making lemonade as a kid, for me, meant ordering water with lemon from a restaurant and emptying infinite packets of sugar into the glass, watching it float to the bottom.

Thankfully I've upgraded my lemonade making skills.

My children and I really enjoy making homemade lemonade together. I do hope that it becomes one of the memories they hold near and dear to their hearts as they get older.  It's fun, easy and refreshing on a hot summer's day.

We took about 5 or 6 lemons and sliced them each in half. The kids took turns juicing the lemons with a fruit juicer. (If you don't have a juicer just poke the halved lemons with a fork and squeeze the juice into a cup, you may have to strain or scoop out the seeds).

While the kids were juicing the lemons, I made a simple syrup on the stove. That's just basically dumping a cup of water and a cup of sugar in a pot and stirring until the sugar dissolves.  Literally less than 5 mins.

Once the kids were done, I cut an additional lemon into slices. Filled a pitcher with 5 cups of water added the freshly squeezed lemon juice, and the simple syrup. I gave everything a stir, then added the lemon slices and placed in the fridge to chill.

Tip: It tastes sweeter if you drink it over ice, while listening to Beyonce's Lemonade album. Aye!!!


Here's What You Need:

6 Lemons
5 cups of water
1 cup sugar
1 cup of water


Here's What You'll Do: 

1. Slice 5 of the 6 lemons in half.

2. Using a juicer, juice the lemons (you should have 10 halves). If you are not using a juicer, poke the each of the halves several times and squeeze the juice from the lemons into a cup. You may need to remove seeds.

3. In a pot over medium heat add 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved about 5mins.

4. Fill at pitcher with 5 cups of water.

5. Add squeezed lemon juice and simple syrup to the pitcher; stir.

6. Cut the remaining lemon into thin slices. Add to pitcher.

7. Place lemonade in fridge to chill.

8. Serve in a glass over ice.

Dandelion Tea

 My days of smoking weed are long gone, but, that doesn't stop me from drinking it. Well let me be more clear, I drink dandelions. My wife thinks I'm nuts, but I freaking love it.  


Here's What You'll Need:
1 Tbsp dried organic Dandelions (chrysanthemum)
8oz. water
1tsp of honey or more to taste

Here's What You Do:
1. Warm water until right before boiling point.
2. Place Dandelions in a cup and pour water over them.
3. Cover the cup and allow the tea to steep for 5-10mins.
4. Remove cover and discard dandelions.
5. Stir in honey to taste.

Tropical Peach Pineapple Mimosa

As you know my wife and I just celebrated an anniversary.  Spending a decade (9 years married) with the same person (and not literally choking the crap out of them) is a pretty joyous occasion.  Of course my drunken mermaid self celebrated with a little bubbly, but my wife doesn't do alcohol, so it was important for me to create a drink she can enjoy during the festivities as well.

This year we did mimosas. Now the key to any good mimosa is juice, bubbly and a nice garnish. The combinations are endless, and I'll be sharing a few of my favorites (both with and without the booze).

She has a thing for tropical, so I knew I was gonna take that route. Sure, I'm aware it's fall, but it's still in the high 80's here so I'm just gonna keep the theme going. The weather will dictate when it's time to season things up a bit. :)
 (Pictured is Fruit Punch (to show you what the container looks like), We used the all tropical and the trash was taken out before I got a pic). 

For this virgin Mimosa I used Minute Maid Premium tropical punch, Big Win's pineapple coconut sparkling water and a few frozen peach and pineapple slices. Oh my gosh, the flavors just burst in your mouth! It's soooo flippin' good! If you're like my better half, and have a thing for tropical flavors, this one's a winner. The flavor is pretty intense, a bit on the sweet side, but we're celebrating here, so why not live a little?!

The frozen fruit adds so much because they are the "ice" and then as they thaw in the drink they soak up all the yummy tropical goodness and you get to enjoy them as a treat. Unless of  course you're like me and just decide to pour yourself another (while sneaking in a splash of Vodka for good measure..I'm so bad, I know).

The kids (AKA party animals) wanted to try it so I ended up just making a whole pitcher.

[Warning: If your kid runs up to you and tells you "there's been a shipwreck", don't ward him off as crazy, and give a quick "ok." If you do, you will learn the hard way, as you nearly kill yourself slipping on a peachy tropical wet floor.]


Tropical Peach Mimosa 

 Here's What You Need:
4oz. Minute Maid Tropical Punch
4oz. Big Win Pineapple Coconut Sparkling Water
 2 frozen peach slices, 3pineapple chunks

Here's What You Do:
Place frozen peaches and pineapples in bottom of glass
Pour in tropical punch
Pour in sparkling water
Give a quick stir and enjoy.

To make more than a pitcher:
Mix equal amounts of tropical punch and sparkling water
Add in a good amount of frozen peaches and enjoy.
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