Recipes for Salad Dressing and Some Awards!!

I love salad and especially this time of year with the fresh tomatoes and fresh vegetables in general. I am very picky about dressing, so I make my own. These recipes are not light or diet. I tend to be very light on how much I put on. My husband and daughter use the dip the fork in the dressing method and then take some salad and eat. For this reason I do not worry too much about the calories, because this one area where we don't overdue it. I hope you enjoy these, they are my favorites.

Creamy French Dressing

1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. kosher or any coarse salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp. paprika
1/3 cup white distilled vinegar
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup tomato ketchup

Mix all ingredients in a blender for a minute or so. Store in another container in refrigerator. I always put a date on it so I don't forget how long ago I made it. It makes about 2-3 cups. I have stored it for a few months with no problem.


Apple Vinaigrette

1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple juice
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp dry basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Mix all ingredients in a blender for a minute or so. Store in another container in the refrigerator. Of course you will have to give it a good shake before you use it. I like this as an alternative to a raspberry vinaigrette. I make a salad with greens, fresh tomatoes, chopped fresh apples and walnuts. We like it, I hope you do also.

This is my layered taco salad, but I do use the French dressing on this mixed with some salsa, it works very well.

Have a great weekend

Anne

Thank you to Tina at It May Be A Crazy Life, But It Is OUR Life for passing on these beautiful awards to me! Please go and visit her wonderful blog full of family life, beautiful photos and life. Thank you for passing the love to me.

Spice Garden

I decided to try growing a spice garden on my kitchen window, it gets some good sun. I am a big fan of Gordon Ramsay and he inspired me to use fresh spices. I started about a week ago with seeds for basil, oregano, parsley, also a tomato plant and strawberries. Target has a great dollar section and I found a lot of what I needed there. I haven't always had a green thumb in the past so I didn't want to spend too much to start. The basil came up fast and is doing well followed by the parsley and oregano. I have a nice tomato plant going but the strawberries are just barely there. So the race is on, in first place, basil, oregano, parsley, tomato, strawberry. I will update weekly. I hope they don't crap out on me lol. Wish me luck.

Does anyone have a spice garden?