Brazilian Lemonade

Hello. My name is Anne. And I'm addicted to this drink. I make it all the time. I buy limes in the huge bag from Costco and they're gone within a week. My family is also addicted. Which means they are enabling me. But how we could we survive summer without a refreshing limey beverage? Its not possible. Resistance is futile.

Thanks again Our Best Bites! Another winner!
ps- I copied/pasted directly from their site so the recipe is right out of Kate's mouth.

Ingredients:

4 juicy limes (try and find ones with thin, smooth skins; they’re the juiciest and the thin skin cuts down on the chance of your drink being bitter)
1 c. sugar
6 c. cold water
6 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

Mix cold water and sugar very well and chill until ready to use. This step can be done ahead of time.

Wash limes thoroughly with soap (I just use hand-dishwashing soap or regular hand soap); you need the soap to get the wax and pesticides off of the limes because you’re using the WHOLE lime, baby. Cut the ends off the limes and then cut each lime into 8ths.

Place 1/2 of the limes in your blender.

Add 1/2 of the sugar water, place the lid on your blender, and pulse 5 times. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a pitcher (the one you’ll serve the lemonade in) and pour the blended mixture through the strainer and into the pitcher. Use a spoon to press the rest of the liquid into the pitcher. Dump the pulp and stuff in the strainer into the trash. Repeat with remaining limes and sugar water. Add sweetened condensed milk; DO NOT leave this step out unless you will die of a horrible sweetened condensed milk allergy because this is the secret ingredient! You may want to taste test it at this point; I used giant, thick-skinned limes tonight and didn’t test it and it came out a little bitter. If it’s bitter, just add some more sugar and maybe a little more milk.
Serve immediately over lots of ice. This does not keep well, so don’t make this in advance (although you can cut the limes, mix the sugar water, and measure the sweetened condensed milk in advance). Serves 4, although I can pretty much guarantee you that people will want more; I usually plan on 1 1/2 servings at LEAST per person.

* a note from Anne, which is actually a tip from my fellow Good Eater, Staci. Don't use the Magic Bullet brand blender. Its too powerful and even if you do it for 5 seconds, its going to pulverize the limes too much and the peel will be too fine to strain out and your drink will taste strongly of lime peel because your drink WILL be lime peel. Long story short: use your regular ol' boring blender, capiche?

**Staci here...editing to add...I actually use a VitaMix and I think it would work fine, but don't blend for more than a second or two. You want the mixture to be VERY chunky. I think the first time I let it go for a good 10 seconds which was WAY too long with the Vitamix.

Berry Smoothie

So, in Septemeber I decided to buy a Vita Mix...you know, the mother of all blenders. I had a blender I had purchased from Williams Sonoma and it just didn't cut it. There were always chunks left when I would make smoothies. I debated over this purchase forever (they are pricey) but then just decided to do it! I don't regret it one bit. I have used it at least once a day since I bought it. It even grinds wheat. Anyway, if you are a blender user or would like to be, definitely check them out!

So, I have made many a smoothie. I try to get the kids to drink at least one a day. I throw in spinach, carrots, cabbage, celery etc....whatever I have on hand. You can't taste it and they are all raw and full of vitamins and nutrients. This following recipe has been my favorite lately.

Berry Smoothie

Handful of almonds (if you have a regular blender, blend these to a powder first)
1-1.5 cups good orange juice (I use Naked juice from Costco, but any orange juice NOT from concentrate will work)
Scoop of plain or vanilla yogurt (optional)
5-6 frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
Handful of baby carrots (5-6)
Handful of spinach
Half of a banana
4-5 Ice cubes

Put all in blender and blend until no chunks remain. Drink and enjoy!

Limeade

From my tried and true Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. A nice way to use some lemons/limes and its just so refreshing and summer-y. A little planning goes into it since it has to chill in the fridge, but only a few hours notice so its not so bad. I think a "fancy" drink really makes it a special occasion.

2 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 sugar
1/2 tsp finely shredded lime peel
1 1/4 cups fresh squeezed lime juice (I used 10-12 limes or for lemonade, 8 lemons)

1. For the base, in a saucepan heat and stir water and sugar over medium heat till sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; cool 20 minutes. Add peel and juice to sugar mixture. Pour into a jar, cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

2. Once mixture is chilled, add 4 cups icy cold water to the base, mix well and serve. Can garnish with lime wedges. Makes 8 (1 cup) servings.

Orange Julius

Its a staple at our house, served with popcorn on movie nights. My kids could drink this by the bucketful if I allowed them. And I have substituted splenda for sugar without any problems. You can get creative and add a banana or berries if you want, or just have it the plain old way too. Drink immediately for optimal results. :)

In a blender, add the following ingredients:

6oz frozen OJ concentrate, (half of a standard frozen OJ container, the other half saves nicely)
1 cup water
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
10-12 ice cubes

blend until no ice chunks are left and the drink is frothy. enjoy! makes enough for 4 people.

Raspberry Lemonade Slush

6 cups hots water
4 cups sugar
1 12 oz can frozen lemonade concentrate
1 16 oz can crushed pineapple with juice
2 10oz bags frozen raspberries
2 liters gingerale or lemon-lime soda

mix hot water and sugar together until sugar is dissolved. add lemonade, pineapple, and raspberries and stir until well mixed. freeze overnight. serve with desired amount of ginger ale or soda. makes 10-12 servings.

*a note. take out one hour prior to serving as the mixture is more "slushy" when its time to serve.