What I'm Drinking: Homemade Limeade

I bought way too many limes over the weekend. Turns out, rather than the 15 I bought (yay 3 for $1), I only needed two for another recipe I'll be sharing later this week. So, what do you do when life gives you limes? You make limeade. I'm pretty sure that's how the saying goes, right? :)

I tend to not go too sweet with my drinks, so I only added a half cup of sugar to my limeade. Limes are sweeter than lemons, so you can definitely go a little lighter with the sweetener, but make sure you taste it before serving to make sure it's sweet enough for you. If you're planning to serve immediately to a large group, I would add some lime slices to the serving container itself, or you can add thin slices of lime to each glass just before serving.

Homemade Limeade
makes about 8 cups

1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
6 cups water, divided
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon lime zest

1. Add the lime juice and 5 cups of water to a large serving bottle or pitcher.
2. To make the simple syrup, combine the remaining cup of water, sugar, and lime zest in a small sauce pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove from the heat and pour into a heat-safe container. Set the simple syrup in the refrigerator to cool for at least 30 minutes.
3. After the simple syrup has cooled, pour into the container with the lime juice and water. Stir to combine. Add additional sugar if you prefer a sweeter drink.
4. Serve over ice with thin slices of lime.