Frozen Strawberry Lemonade

Lemonade is one of those things that automatically brings the word refreshing” to my mind.

It’s the perfect drink for spring and summer, and is made even more perfect (if that’s possible) by adding in a box of pureed strawberries.

Strawberries, in my opinion, are one of the best things about spring. They are in season right now so they are perfectly juicy and sweet – a perfect contrast to the tart lemonade!
And to kick the refreshing deliciousness of this drink up another notch, we freeze it so you get an almost snow-cone like strawberry lemonade. This will definitely brighten up your day!

It is SO hot in Georgia right now. And in order for us to keep our power bill reasonably low, the coolest we can have our AC at is 78 degrees. So basically our apartment is always hot. Needless to say, these little frozen cups of icy goodness have been life savers this week. They cool your whole body down and make you feel clean and refreshed!

So this weekend is going to be crazy. Seth’s sister Aubrey is running in a Spartan Race in Charlotte on Sunday and his mom and dad are driving over from Raleigh to watch her. Seth and I are going to drive to Charlotte and surprise his dad for his birthday. So initially just Aubrey was running in the race, and then Seth decided to do it too, and then Ethan (Seth’s brother), and then Ethan’s girlfriend, and then me, and then his mom and dad. So now all of us are running in this race.

It’s going to be pretty interesting considering that the furthest I can run is 2 miles. And this race is 3-5 miles. With obstacles throughout. I’ll let you know it goes…
I wish I could have a nice icy cup of this frozen lemonade waiting for me at the finish line!

But they give you a free beer.So that’s pretty good too ;).
So there are a few things you should know about this lemonade before making it:

1. If you want to fore-go the frozen element of this and just drink it in liquid form, it is still absolutely delicious. Just strain it before drinking so it gets out all those strawberry seeds and is nice and smooth :).
2. The way I chose to make this is similar to the way you would make a granita So there is no special equipment required, just a baking sheet or baking dish and a fork! You just pour the lemonade into the dish, throw it in the freezer, freeze for several hours or over night, and then scrape up with a fork when it’s frozen through.
3. As for the fork scraping portion…right when you start out you will be thinking, What am I doing, this isn’t working…” But you get the hang of it super quick and find your own little method. Mine, for example, is scraping some out so I have an edge, and then scraping down and over the edge. It seems to make the scraping process happen much more quickly.
4. One great thing about this recipe is that you can make one serving at a time, or ten servings at a time. You just keep the baking sheet or dish in your freezer, pop it out, and fork up a bowl whenever you want some. That’s the way we have been doing it. When one of us is in the mood for some frozen lemonade, we just go scrape out a little single serving :). It really is so refreshing and delicious.

1 16oz box of strawberries
2 teaspoons Truvia (or any other sweetener) or more to taste
Muddle your mint leaves for a few minutes in the bottom of a pitcher using a wooden spoon to release their oils
Add the 1.5 liters of water
Squeeze in the juice of 4 lemons

Half all the strawberries and place them in a blender with about ½ cup of the lemonade
Blend until the strawberries are completely pureed
Add the puree into the lemonade
Add your sweetener to taste (I added 2 teaspoons)

For this next step, you can use a baking sheet or a baking dish. If you use a baking dish you might need more than one. I used one baking sheet and it was a bit of a challenge to get into the freezer without spilling. If you want to avoid this, you could split the lemonade between two baking sheets.

Strain the lemonade using a sieve directly into your baking sheet/dish

Place in the freezer until the lemonade is frozen through, several hours or over night
Using a fork, scrape against the frozen lemonade to form small shards of ice and spoon into cups or bowls

The “total time” of this recipe does not include the time it takes to freeze, because it will be different for each person depending on how many baking sheets/dishes you use