Homemade Lemonade

This is ridiculously easy. I never have made lemonade before this because I assumed the ratio of sweet-sour-watery was really hard to figure out. It wasn't. I used this Paula Deen recipe as a starting point. I downsized it from a gallon to a quart (32oz). That is how big my small glass pitcher is, plus if it was bad I didn't want a gallon! I also bought way WAY too many lemons! Haha! I only needed 3 large lemons, and one even had a slice out of it from a previous drink. I found this recipe as is to be a little watery for my taste, but sweet enough. I also found it impossible to dissolve 1/2 cup sugar in 1/4 cup water, and unnecessary to do so. Here is a recipe with my alterations.

Ok I know this seems kind of creepy/weird I am wearing gloves. Let me explain. I don't have a juicer so I cut the lemon into quarters and squeeze them. This is very effective. However, in the past while doing this with limes I encountered a strange (painful) side effect. The squeezing plus the acid in the fruit caused my nails to separate from the nail beds at the tips. They hurt for a while... This is easily avoided by wearing gloves to keep the juice away from my skin. 

I strained the juice to remove large pulp pieces and seeds. I ended up with 2/3 cup. The original recipe called for less juice but when I tasted it, I added what I had remaining for a more lemony flavor.

I used plain white sugar. I'm sure alternative sweeteners could be used, but the above measurement is just for the basic stuff!

Hot water added. I swished it around until it became clear.

Lemon juice and cold water added!

You can put mint in this as Paula Deen recommends in her recipe, or float a thinly sliced lemon circle for looks. Though you will probably want to toss that garnish upon tasting this, it gets in the way of chugging this deliciously refreshing drink.