Ranch Dressing

I'm trying to cut down on chemicals and random ingredients I don't know so I thought I would try out the Pioneer Woman's ranch dressing.  It turned out pretty good! I like less of a mayo taste so I evened out the mayo/sour cream ratio so if you love mayo, add more of that and less of the sour cream.  I whipped up this batch for the buffalo chicken quinoa salad I'm going to post next and it was great drizzled on top!

Ranch Dressing

recipe adapted from Pioneer Woman

3/4 c. mayo

3/4 c. sour cream

2 tsp. vinegar

lots of black pepper (to your taste)

a few drops of worcestershire

dash of cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. dried dill

2 Tb. dried parsley or 1/4 c. fresh parsley

2-3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

2 green onions, coarsely chopped

3/4 c. milk (maybe more)

Toss the mayo, sour cream, vinegar, pepper, worcestershire, cayenne, dill, parsley, garlic and green onions into the blender, pulse until everything is chopped and incorporated.  Pour in the milk and blend to incorporate.  Add more milk depending on the consistency you like.  Refrigerate until you need it.

Green Goddess Vinaigrette

This dressing is so delicious.  Seriously, it's our new favorite.  My mom made this recipe up and when she wrote it down for me and I looked at the recipe, it looked weird so I stuck it in the cupboard and forgot about it.  Then, I was at my mom's house and ate the dressing...and that was it.  It.  Is. So. Good. It's all natural, no chemicals like you might find in some grocery store dressings...and it isn't $6 for a bottle!  Win, win.

When you're looking for tahini, might I suggest you avoid purchasing the orange and white can of tahini?  It isn't very good.  At all.  But there are many brands out there in jars that taste awesome and my favorite is the one sold at World Market...and it's a good price.

Green Goddess Vinaigrette

recipe from my mom

1/2 c. apple cider vinegar

1-2 tsp. sugar

3 Tb. soy sauce

1/4 c. fresh parsley

1-2 green onions, chopped

2 Tb.(heaping) tahini

1-2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 

1 1/2 c. vegetable oil

pepper (no salt because the soy sauce is so salty)

Put everything in the blender and blend until parsley, onions, and garlic is pureed and everything is incorporated.  Refrigerate up to 10 days.

Balsamic Vinaigrette and Spring Mix Salad

This is my FAVorite salad dressing. I mean--ever. One of my lifetime best-friends' cousin made this salad dressing at a gathering once (years ago) and I have been obsessed with it ever since. Thankfully she was nice enough to give me the recipe, and why mess with perfection? I just make it as her recipe states, which I now have memorized. I promise that if you make a salad, toss in this dressing, and serve it to guests, they will think you are a hero.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/2 c. balsamic vinegar

1/3 c. brown sugar

1/8 c. honey

2-3 garlic cloves (I always use 3)

1 T. water

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 c. olive oil

In a blender pour in all ingredients except olive oil. Blend until smooth. While the blender is running slowly stream in the olive oil. Streaming in the oil while the blender is running will cause the mixture to emulsify, which basically means it will be thick and creamy and not separate. Use this right away or store in the fridge for up to a month. When stored in the fridge, the dressing may be pretty thick when you first pull it out so you can set it on the counter a while before serving, or microwave it for 15 seconds.

Spring Mix Salad

There are no specific measurements for this saladjust make as much as you like!

Spring mix lettuce or spinach

red onion, thinly sliced

dried cranberries or golden raisins

granny smith apple, very thinly sliced

walnuts or pine nuts

feta or goat cheese, crumbled on top

Drizzle the homemade balsamic dressing over the top. YUM. This can be an easy meal with some grilled chicken on top.