National Lemonade Day!

Is there anyone who doesn't like lemonade? Is it even possible not to like it? Personally, I LOVE lemonade. I even like a splash of lemon juice added to a glass of water.

I hope you enjoy the following recipes! I've not made them yet, but had them in my files so I can. I have put frozen strawberries and cranberries in my lemonade and liked the flavor so I'm sure I'd really like these! Give them a try if you like the fruits/flavors for other concoctions!

Lets get started as I'm going to need to go get some lemonade after this!

Old Fashioned Pink Lemonade Recipe

1 1/4 cup sugar (if using unsweetened cranberry juice
OR
1 cup if using sweetened cranberry juice
4 cups water (divided)
1 cup cranberry juice
1 cup lemon juice

Make a "simple syrup" by heating sugar and 1 cup of the water in a small saucepan until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat.
Stir together the remaining water, cranberry juice, lemon juice and simple syrup. Make adjustments to taste. Chill for an hour, or add ice to cool. Serves 6.
Source: Unknown

Berry Lemonade Slush

COUNTRY TIME Lemonade Flavor Drink Mix
1/2 cup water
3 cups ice cubes
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries

MEASURE drink mix into cap to 1-quart line.
PLACE drink mix, water, ice and strawberries in blender container; cover. Blend on high speed 10 seconds. Turn off blender. Stir with spoon; cover. Blend an additional 5 seconds or until smooth. Serve immediately. Store leftover slush in freezer. Serves 4
Source: Kraftfoods

Minted Raspberry Lemonade

1/2 cup unsweetened raspberries
1 cup lemon juice (about 4 medium lemons)
3/4 cup Domino® or C&H® Granulated Pure Cane Sugar
1 teaspoon minced fresh mint or 1/4 teaspoon dried mint flakes
6 cups water

Directions:
Mash and strain raspberries, reserving juice; discard pulp and seeds. In a large container or punch bowl, combine the lemon juice, sugar and mint. Stir in water and reserved raspberry juice. Serve in chilled glasses over ice. Yield: 7 servings, 1 cup each
Nutrition Facts
Calories: 88, Fat:0 g, Saturated Fat:0 g, Cholesterol:0 mg, Sodium:1 mg, Carbohydrate: 23 g, Fiber:0 g, Protein:0 g
Diabetic Exchange: 1-1/2 fruit.
Source: Tasteofhome.com - Light & Tasty

Blackberry Lemonade

-Prepare your favorite lemonade recipe (or if using frozen prepare according to can directions).
-Puree a cup or two of blackberries (sweetened or not) in the blender.
-Stir puree into lemonade.
-Serve over ice.

NOTE: another thing you can do is make blackberry lemonade ice cubes (blackberry lemonade as well as whole blackberries in each cube) ... use in many summery drinks (ice tea, plain lemonade, seltzer water, ginger ale, lemon-lime soda, etc).
Source: Unknown

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade

4 cups sugar
8 cups water
Zest of 4 lemons
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4-6 lemons)
4 tbsp grated ginger
Pinch salt
Ice

Directions:
Fresh Squeezed Lemonade
Pour the sugar into a saucepan along with 2 cups of the water. Add the lemon zest and bring to a simmer. Continue cooking until the sugar has completely dissolved. Turn the heat off and stir in grated ginger and salt. Pour into a large pitcher and add 6 cups of water and plenty of ice. Stir well.
Source: Michael Smith (Possibly a FoodNetwork Chef??)

My 2 cents: I'm not a fan of a strong ginger tone in anything so in making this, I'd use half as much ginger the first time. I can add more to taste but I sure can't remove it! If one were to use the full amount and found they weren't fond of it, then use it for making ice cubes for using in lemonade.

TIP of the Day: If you enjoy mint in your lemonade, you can freeze mint leaves into ice cubes. You'll then have that bit of mint for your drink as the cubes dissolve. This can be a nice pick-me-up over the non-Summer months. Herbs take well to being frozen in to ice cubes for all sorts of dishes!

It all adds to the saying if you're served lemons, make lemonade!