Easiest Lemonade

Summer is right around the corner. It is this time of the year that everyone picks one or two bottles of juice/drink every time they go grocery shopping. Particularly those with kids. One of my kids' favorite drink is lemonade be it homemade or store bought. I try to make them at home most of the times using lemons, but lemons tend to get expensive in summer. Here is something that is an alternative.

Have you paid attention to your grocery bill when you bought lemonade? If not, check it out. There is no tax on bottled lemon juice. There is no tax on sugar. There is no tax on Lemons. But, there is a tax on lemonade (at least in Pennsylvania). I don't understand that part. I have always made lemonade at home except when pressed for time. My kids love them and since it is getting hotter every day now, I keep it handy all the time.

Lemons are quite expensive compared to bottled lemon juice without any additives. Why? because of shelf life. There is nothing wrong in using the bottled juice, but adding a little bit of fresh ingredient makes a big difference. I came up with this so that it is quite easy on wallet and great on taste too.

Ingredients:
Bottled Lemon Juice - 2 1/2 cups
Lemons - 4 large (or 1/2 cup more of bottled lemon juice)
Sugar - 3 cups
Water - 9 cups

Method:
Pour the bottled lemon juice, juice from lemons, sugar, water into a pitcher big enough to hold the entire quantity. Stir till sugar is dissolved. Refrigerate till serving time. This is so easy that my two kids made it pretty much themselves. All I had to do was squeeze the lemons and measure the ingredients.

Note:
Generalizing this formula -
Lemon Juice + Sugar + Water in the ratio 1:1:3 a fool proof proportions. Note that this might be sweet for some people, if you are one of them, adjust sugar accordingly. This is not an important recipe or anything like that. I just wrote it down so that I myself don't have to check for the correct taste when I make it. Just measure and stir. How easy is that? Definitely easier than buying it from the store and paying all that extra money.

Happy Cooking!!