Tag Archives: salad dressing

4 Easy Homemade Vinaigrettes

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Holly

A quick glance at any of my menu plans and you know we eat a lot of salad around here. It’s a quick and convenient way to throw together protein and vegetables — and what can I say? I like to keep it simple. Apparently my commitment to simple thus far has precluded making my own salad dressing. Intellectually I KNOW it is easy, but it just seemed like such a fuss so I just continued to buy bottled salad dressings despite the fact that most have some pretty confusing ingredients.

Recently though, I have put my foot down. I make so many other things from scratch it was time to bust out the oils and vinegars, grab a mason jar and figure out how the heck to get it done. And you know what, IT IS SIMPLE! But more importantly, homemade salad dressing tastes so much better. Plus it looks cute in little mason jars in my fridge!

I came up with four dressings that have worked their way into our salad rotation and I thought you might like them too.

1/4 C Lemon Juice
1/2 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 TBS Dijon Mustard
1/2-1 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp honey (just a quick squeeze)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Shake and pour!

This Dressing Is Great For: Greek Salads, Simple Grilled Chicken Salad, or a Chopped Salad with Tomatoes and Cucumbers

A Note About the Ingredients: I really like oregano so I tend to use the full teaspoon, but you could cut back to get just a hint. If you use meyer lemons you may not even need the honey, but I think just a hint of sweetness rounds out the flavor.

1/4 C Champagne Vinegar
1/2 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/8 C Blue Cheese
1 TBS Dijon Mustard
1/4 tsp Thyme
1/4 tsp honey (just a quick squeeze)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Shake and pour!

This Dressing Is Great For: Cobb Salads, Simple Mixed Greens, Steak Salads or Grilled Romaine

A Note About the Ingredients: You can really use any vinegar in here, I just really like how mild champagne vinegar is. Blue cheese is strong and so is dijon mustard. You don’t want too many competing flavors.

1/4 C White Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 C Garlic + Basil Infused Olive Oil
1 TBS Dijon Mustard
1/2 tsp honey (just a quick squeeze)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

This Dressing Is Great For: Caprese Salads, Mixed Greens topped with Tomatoes and Artichoke Hearts

A Note About the Ingredients: White Balsamic Vinegar is a game changer and it’s such a great compliment to an infused olive oil. If you can’t find a garlic and basil infused olive oil just add in a bit of fresh garlic and basil (or dried if that’s all you have on hand…it will be fine!)

1/4 C Blackberry Roasted Red Pepper Vinegar
1/2 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 TBS Dijon Mustard
1/2 tsp honey (just a quick squeeze)
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

This Dressing Is Great For: Salads with spicy meat, Grilled Chicken Salad, Spinach Salad with Fruit

A Note About the Ingredients: This vinegar is to die for and it is by a company called Chapparal Gardens. If you want some fun flavors to mix with a delicious olive oil, check them out. Their Champagne Mimosa Vinegar…also delish! But this combo would be good with any fruity vinegar to taste. Feel free to experiment.

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So those are my newest kitchen creations…how do you make salad dressing? Are there any combos that you can’t be without?

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POSTED IN: salad dressing, vinaigrette

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Get This In Your Kitchen: Carmen’s Gourmet Dressings & Marinades

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Holly

Carmen’s Gourmet Sauces & Marinades have solved one of my major life problems — and deliciously, I might add. And for the record, no one is paying me to say that. You see, one of the hardest things about going Paleo was reading the ingredient labels on all of the bottled salad dressings and packaged marinades I enjoyed and then picking my mouth up off the floor when I realized how much crazy stuff was in there. While I didn’t really have a problem giving up “processed convenience food” since we weren’t really eating that much anyway, the bottled dressings were my achilles heel. This was especially difficult because we were eating A LOT more salad and A LOT more meat.

I did end up adapting and finding some enjoyable recipes for dressings and marinades from scratch, but every once in a while I like to be able to reach into my fridge and grab a little salad topper or have fun with a marinade that I don’t have to measure and mix up myself and Carmen’s is hands down my FAVORITE brand! While every bottle is not 100% strict paleo, their ingredients mostly include local San Luis Obispo Olive Oil, vinegars and herbs and spices — it’s about as close as you can get. Their flavor combos are fun, the ingredients are high quality and the convenience factor wins me over every time.

Garrett loves the Habitual Habanero on just about everything — especially taco salad! I’m partial to the Gorgonzola Thyme on a good cobb salad. When it comes to meat, he Serrano is great on chicken and the kalamata olive dressing? Please! YOU KNOW I love a good greek salad. That one calls my name on the regular. Our favorite little Olive Oil store in San Luis Obispo has them sitting out with bread for dipping if that’s your bag, and Garrett has even fried up an egg or two using them and can’t get enough. Super versatile to have around is what I’m saying and while they aren’t your typical $3.99 bottle of Hidden Valley Ranch, you get what you pay for in quality without fillers.

We stocked up this last weekend when we were on the central coast, but lucky you — you can purchase them online. It’s a fun little treat for your palate! And if you want some creative inspiration their website has all sorts of fun recipes.

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So now that I’ve told you my favorite convenience salad dressings/marinade I want you to tell me your favorite ones from scratch. You know you have a good recipe waiting to be shared, don’t you? I need all the help I can get.