Homemade Salad Dressings

Once a week at family dinner (in NH at my parents house with all the siblings, SO's and grandkids) I will make a salad. It started because I was trying to eat better myself and my brothers girlfriend doesn't eat meat. I have made a number of different salads but what has been more fun is making the dressings for these salads myself. I can control the ingredients, there are no preservatives and like I said, it's fun!

I have made a number of salads now but last nights salad is my favorite to date! I combined baby romaine greens with some Roma grape tomatoes (quartered), shredded carrots, Spanish olives (sliced), homemade bacon bits and some goat cheese. I served it with some pan seared shrimp that I seasoned with some season salt, pepper and a dash of old bay. I cooked it in the same pan as the bacon leaving a bit of the grease and adding a splash of white wine to the pan. It was so good, but it was the dressing that made it one of the best salads I have made!!



Homemade Creamy Italian Dressing

Ingredients:
1 cup mayonnaise (I used canola mayonnaise to keep the fat content down but still taste full fat)
1/2 small onion
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (I used white wine vinegar because that is all I had)
1 tablespoon white sugar
3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:
In a blender or food processor, combine mayonnaise, onion, vinegar, and sugar. Season with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth.

Another favorite salad I have been making is a basic Greek salad using romaine lettuce, feta cheese, grape tomatoes (cut in half if fairly large), and chopped kalamata olives. If you click on the link below, the original recipe was set for 120 servings so I adjusted it to 10!

Greek/House Dressing

Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
1-1/4 teaspoons garlic powder
1-1/4 teaspoons dried oregano
1-1/4 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
2/3 cup red wine vinegar

Directions:
In a medium sized bowl, mix together the olive oil, garlic powder, oregano, basil, pepper, salt, onion powder, and Dijon-style mustard. Pour in the vinegar, and mix vigorously until well blended. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

The second time I made this, I used my food processor for this one too, if you have one I would recommend using it.

Since family dinners are normally on Wednesdays and since Wednesday is Prince ® spaghetti day, family dinner is some type of pasta dinner! When making a yummy red sauce I liked serving it with a Caeser salad made with romaine lettuce, shredded Parmesan cheese and garlic croutons. This is another salad where the dressing makes all the difference! Someday when I have more time I will try out this links homemade croutons too! If you can tolerate anchovies, this dressing is SO good!

Caesar Salad Supreme

3 cloves garlic, peeled
3/4 cup mayonnaise (again I used the canola mayonnaise)
5 anchovy fillets, minced
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
Mince 3 cloves of garlic, and combine in a small bowl with mayonnaise, anchovies, 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.

And last, on a non-pasta night, I did homemade Chinese food. So the salad was made using baby spinach, homemade bacon bits, chopped pear and some glazed pecans. I made a Ginger dressing to serve with it, it was really strong but pretty tasty. This one is definitely my least favorite but it was still really good.

Asian Ginger Dressing

Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
3/4 cup olive oil (many of the reviews say to do half sesame oil, I may try that next time)
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce (also the reviews say to cut this in half, but I don't think it was too strong, probably just a personal preference)
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup water

Directions:
In a 1 pint glass jar or larger, combine the garlic, ginger, olive oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, and water. Cover the jar with a tight fitting lid, and shake well. Remove lid, and heat jar in the microwave for 1 minute just to dissolve the honey. Let cool, and shake well before serving. Store covered in the refrigerator.

So there you are, four of my new favorite salad dressings. Next time you're in the mood for a salad, try one of these homemade dressings. So much better than anything you can buy in a bottle!