For years now, my husband and I have been in search of the perfect salad dressing. One that contains flavors we both enjoy, a low level of saturated fat and no ingredients that we can’t pronounce! After all, does it make any sense to pour something processed and unnatural all over your natural greens?
I love salad. Love it. But it must have great salad dressing on it, or it’s just lettuce! In my house, we almost always have a salad with dinner. Most of the time, it’s incredibly simple.
Literally, it’s lettuce and salad dressing on the side of our entree. If I’m feeling fancy I may slice tomatoes and avocados, or shredded carrots, or I’ll toss in some feta. But most often, simply to add something else green to the menu, it’s spinach leaves or leafy romaine or a kale mix, straight from the bag to the bowl, and done.
After continued disappointment with the “healthy” options on the shelves of my grocery store, I finally had a eureka moment… I can make my own! My mother-in-law has been doing it for years…why haven’t I tried this, yet?
While I loooove creamy dressings, they’re not usually the healthiest option. So #2 on my list is a vinaigrette. There are dozens of ways to be creative with a vinaigrette! (Confession, I consider myself a pretty good speller, but I had no idea this is how you spell vin-ai-grette. I had to look it up!)
Here is the my current go-to recipe, below. You can place everything into a mason jar and just shake it up!
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2-4 tsp brown mustard
1-2 finely minced garlic cloves (I buy fresh minced garlic in a jar…I’m not a mincer.)
3/4 tsp salt
I make a few servings at a time, and it keeps just fine in a jar or salad dressing bottle in the fridge. (The oil will separate and thicken in the refrigerator, so you’ll need to bring it to room temperature and shake it well before serving. Sometimes I nuke it for 5-10 seconds to speed things up.)
Now, here is a fantastic list of 50 salad dressing recipes from Food Network! Some of these combos could also work well as a marinade.
And, if you’re a little bit more “futsy” – that is, you don’t mind mincing, chopping and purchasing a few additional things, you might enjoy this article entitled 5 Salad Dressing Recipes to Know by Heart.
Enjoy your greens!
Nicole
Anne says
Staples for my dressings include: olive oil, Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, garlic salt, and shallots. Lots of shallots. I don't use all of these ingredients at the same time….
Daily Momtivity says
Sounds yummy, Anne! I agree, those are all great pantry staples that we should keep on-hand. They are represented in most of the salad dressing recipes on the Food Network list of 50.
Jebbica @Jebbica's World says
Sounds good! I love all kinds of dressings and making my own too! We even make our own ranch–my husband puts ranch on EVERYTHING. Thanks for sharing this one! I love mustard-y vinaigrettes best. Thanks for sharing at my party!
Jacky @ Joyful Savings says
This look delicious! I really need to start making my own dressing . . . just a little on the lazy side!
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