Ranch dressing

I'm looking for the perfect Ranch dressing.  I found a ton of new ideas to try today.  This was one of the simplest, but of course I had to do my own thing too.  I made only a half batch (mostly to make sure I liked it and not waste ingredients.)  It was pretty good and went well on our wraps.

Ingredients

• 6 Tablespoons mayo
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup greek yogurt
• 1/2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teapsoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon chives
• 1/4 teaspoon parsley
• pinch dill (maybe 1/8 teaspoon
• about 2 Tablespoons buttermilk (I'd use more to thin it out/add flavor if using this as salad dressing.)

Directions

1. Stir all ingredients together until well combined.

Caesar Dressing

I have been trying various new salad dressing recipes lately with our new huge increase in salad eating combined with my decrease in eating foods with lots of preservatives.   Unfortunately I've had a hard time finding many that I really  like.  This one wasn't bad.  I could make it again, and I actually chose it over the homemade catalina the other night (only because I had had catalina on my lunch salad - it is still my favorite.)  However, this one is definitely blog worthy and will be made again.  I have seen another version of Caesar dressing somewhere and if I find it again, I may try it too, but for the time being, this was nice, didn't make too much, and didn't use raw egg (various of the recipes I've seen do.)
I was a bit shy on lemon juice so I tossed in a tiny bit f lemon zest.  I don't think I'd do that again - not that it was bad, I could just taste a hint of lemon that way, and Caesar dressing shouldn't have a hint of lemon in my mind.  I didn't notice this as much the next day, so it may not be that big of a deal.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/8 cup vinegar
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (OK, looking at my recipe it actually said 1/4 cup and 4 Tablespoons I'm sure I only put 1/4 cup -since 1/4 cup and 4 Tablespoons are the same thing??  but I used real Parmesan not Kraft powdery stuff so it had some flavor.  I may have even used me Parmiggiano Reggiano -I can't remember.  It had plenty of flavor or I would have added more.  Depending on the cheese you use, you may want to add more. - there that is my disclaimer. :)
• 2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Toss in a blender and blend until smooth.

Catalina Dressing

One of my favorite salad dressings is Catalina.  With all of the salads we've been having lately I really needed something I really liked to make my salads tasty.  I searched online for a "Catalina" recipe and they all had ketchup.  Seems to defeat the purpose of buying commercial salad dressing if you're just going to use commercial ketchup in the recipe.  In addition to the ketchup, they also all had a full cup of sugar.  I used agave and cut the quantity in half but then added an extra bit to make up for missing sweetener in the ketchup.  Here is how I made it.  I loved it just like this.
My 3 year old loves this.  He calls it pink ranch (even though it is more orange in color.)  He has it on the side and dips individual pieces of lettuce in the dip and devours them.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons Agave  (5/8 cup or 10 Tablespoons
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• dash paprika
• dash garlic powder
• larger dash onion powder (original was grated onion to taste.  I almost threw in a chunk of onion but I got lazy and went with the powder.  I'm sure you could use 1/2 teaspoon and be fine.  I just sprinkled.
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup water (can trade for more olive oil if desired but I don't like things to feel too greasy.  Can also omit for a more concentrated sauce.)
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce

Directions

Blend until smooth.  I found this tasted better the next day when the flavors could blend a bit, but it was still plenty tasty the first day.

Avocado salad dressing/ southwestern salad

I made a salad to go with the chili we had.  I wanted to stick with a southwestern theme so I decided to try the avocado dressing in the GSG book.  However, I ended up having no lemon juice and only 1 lime.  I subbed some orange juice.  The dressing was OK.  A bit too salty with the large amount of Liquid Aminos, but I thought it was good on the salad.  I just wouldn't use it as dip for veggies.  Too salty for my tastes.  I do have to say that I liked it enough to have some more salad for lunch today.  To make the salad I just tossed some lettuce (I had green leaf and romaine), 1 cup frozen corn, defrosted and some diced red, yellow, and orange bell peppers.  I tossed some black beans in the salad when I had it again today for lunch, and would probably add some tomatoes if I had any.  Shedded cheddar or monterey jack cheese would also be tasty.  I actually made some croutons for the salad by brushing some bread with olive oil and sprinkling with oregano and basil, dicing and  then broiling for 2-3 minutes.   Yum.

To explain why this has a 3 star and a 4 star - the dressing alone + 3 star - maybe less.  The salad together 4 star.

Ingredients

• 2 avocados
• 1/2 cup lemon juice (or if your me, juice of 1 lime plus juice of an orange - to equal 1/2 cup)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 Tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 Tablespoons Nama Shoyu or Bragg Liquid Aminos (I'll probably reduce this to 1 next time I make this)
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2-4 Tablespoons water (I used all 4 and it was still pretty thick.)

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

Toss with salad immediately before serving.

Pecan-cranberry quinoa

This is the first dinner recipe I've tried from green smoothie girl.  I shy away from quinoa a lot.  Many times it isn't particularly my favorite, and I have multiple children who don't care for it. I almost forgot that when we sat down to dinner and Tavio said he LOVED this - Why don't w have quinoa more often.  Of course, then the little boys opened their mouths, and it was all yuck, this is disgusting. etc. etc.  before even trying the food.  Benjamin eventually ate it - only because he was racing Aaron.  Aaron took an obligatory bite, but was NOT happy about it, and it took some time to get that in him.  Duncan ate his (mostly) without complaint, but was super slow to eat, and I heard him muttering about the horrors of eating healthy and that he wasn't gaining weight..... (a normal occurance at our house.)  I actually really liked it.  Had just enough crunch with the almonds, just enough sweet with the craisins.   I didn't even mind the cilantro (of course I probably didn't put the full 1/3 cup it called for in - more like 2 Tablespoons once chopped if I really would have measured.)   I really liked the dressing that went with it, and am thinking of making it again to go on a salad.  Very fresh and citrusy with no vinegar to bite my lips.  I'll eat the left overs for lunch today.  (always a good indication of how much I liked a meal.  :)

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed well (soak for a few minutes, then drain in a fine strainer
• 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 2 green onions chopped
• 2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Dressing ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice (1 lemon)
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice (1 medium/small orange)
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons agave
• 1 teaspoon basil (I reduced this from the original - feel free to add more if you want to.)

Directions

1. Toast the almonds in a saute pan.  Set aside.  In the same pan, briefly saute the garlic in the oil.  Add the quinoa and stir until toasted.  Add the water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.  
2. Blend all dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor.  Mix all ingredients together and serve.  This dish is good both hot and cold. I ate it hot for dinner, but cold for lunch the next day.

strawberry-poppy seed dressing

A couple of posts ago I wrote about not buying salad dressings anymore.  Well here is another I have tried to add to my list.  This one also is from green smoothie girl.  It is very simple.
I think my next chore after this is to go through all of my recipe books and make a salad dressing cookbook on the computer or something so I can see what I have.  So many look very similar.  In fact in one of the Raw books I have checked out of the library it has a generic salad dressing recipe.  Surely it looks something like -equal parts oil and vinegar, sweetener, spice.  Really it is so simple, one could get quite creative.

This dressing had an optional ingredient of basil which I did try.  It gave it a bit less sweet, more savory flavor.  It was a good addition for a more savory dressing, but if you want a more sweet dressing, go without.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
• 2-3 Tablespoons pureed strawberries or raspberies (I just used 3 large ones from my bag of frozen strawberries.  I defrosted them a bit and threw them right into the blender whole.
• 1/4 teaspoon basil (optional) -I used the dried stuff.

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients except poppy seeds in a blender (I think my blender was dirty and I made this in my food processor with no problems)  Add poppy seeds and pulse a couple of times.

Craisin salad and honey mustard dressing

This recipe comes from Green smoothie girl.  However, her recipe makes a very large salad.  I didn't have the types of salad called for, or the almonds (at least I couldn't find them.  Found them today when I went to put away the new bag I bought - go figure.)
I really liked the salad - LOVED the candied pecans -(who knew you could make those with agave - not me.)  I wasn't a fan of the dressing, but I'm not a fan of mustard.  I'd probably either use the strawberry poppy seed dressing on this next time, or let individuals pick their own dressing, or just use only about 1/3 the amount of mustard in the dressing.  Seems like everyone else liked the dressing though, so don't let my dislike of mustard sway you from trying the dressing.
Anyway, here is how I made the salad with the dressing to follow.  Still tasty and just enough for our family as a salad before dinner, not the main dish.

Ingredients

• 1/2 of a large head of romaine (I'd use 1 whole head if you are using romaine hearts or a smaller head.)
• 2-3 large handfuls of baby spinach
• 1 can mandarin oranges, drained (I used an 11 oz. can)
• 1/2 cup craisins
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2 Tablespoons agave

Directions

1. Saute pecans over medium heat with the butter and agave until browned.  Set aside.  Toss remaining ingredients together with dressing (see below for what we tried.)    You can toss the nuts in at the end, but personally, I just sprinkled them on top of each individual plate.

This too is from green smoothie girl.  I liked the dressing I tried the next day a lot better.  This amount made quite a lot.  I'm not sure how long it will stay good in the fridge, but I think if making it again, I would probably just do a 1/2 batch.  That would still have been plenty for the cranberry salad plus left overs.

Here's my slightly adapted version.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon mustard 
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 medium sweet onion cut into fourths
• 1 Tablespoon poppy seeds

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients except poppy seeds in a blender and blend until smooth.  Add poppy seeds and pulse a couple of times.  
2. Toss desired amount with salad (I can't imagine you using all of this on the salad listed above.  This is a lot of dressing.

Ranch dressing or dip mix, and dressing

I can't believe I haven't blogged about this one yet.  I've made it a couple of times (the mix -triple batches each time.)  I remember last time I made it I had to search forever to figure out what book I got the recipe from.  Should have blogged it then.  Save myself time searching every cookbook I own.  :)
So, lately I've decided to really change up my eating habits - more on that later.  One of the things I'm doing is eating way MORE salad.  Quite a while ago I quit buying salad dressings and started making my own.  This one is definitely a family favorite.  It is super easy -especially if you have some mix already made.   You can also adjust the thickness by varying what you mix it with.  Never buy a packet of ranch dressing mix again.  :)

Ingredients

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried chives

This will yield only enough for 1 batch of ranch.  To triple, simply change all of the teaspoons to Tablespoons.  That gets a bit tricky with the 1/4 teaspoons,  It should look something like this

Ingredients for 3 batches

• 1/2 Tablespoon (1 1/2 teaspoons) pepper
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons parsley
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 1/2 Tablespoon (1 1/2 teaspoons) garlic powder
• 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 3/4 teaspoon thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon dried chives

Or double again and only use Tablespoon and 1/2 Tablespoon measures.  It would look like this

Ingredients for 6 batches

• 1 Tablespoon pepper
• 3 Tablespoons parsley
• 2 Tablespoons salt
• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 Tablespoon onion powder
• 1/2 Tablespoon Thyme
• 1/2 Tablespoon dried chives

Make as much as you like.  Personally, I make the 6 batches.  It is just easier, and my kids love ranch.  My oldest dips his pizza in it, and they all eat fresh carrots, celery, cucumbers peppers or tomatoes or salad in general much better with some sauce.  Ranch being a particular favorite.

To mix up some ranch

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 teaspoons Ranch mix listed above *
• 4 teaspoons olive oil **
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup greek yogurt***
• 3 Tablespoons buttermilk

Mix it all together.  Store in the fridge.  You are "supposed to" let this sit for an hour in the fridge before using.  I haven't in the 4-6 times I've made it.  First batch gets used immediately.  Still tastes great.  Other notes

* (you can totally play with this amount.  I usually add 1 heaping Tablespoon because I'm lazy and don't want to measure out 4 1/2 teaspoons.  Today I actually measured out 4 teaspoons.  Add as much or little as you like to make it taste good.

** I have been known to omit the olive oil especially if I'm going for a thicker veggie dipping sauce.  I added it when making it today and suggest it if you are going for salad dressing.

*** original called for mayo or yogurt.  I always use greek yogurt.  It is thicker but way better for you.  You can always thin the dressing with a little water if it is too thick for you liking.

****Buttermilk is listed as an option written in the intro to the recipe (not even in the recipe) - I know, crazy huh?  I love my ranch to have a buttermilk flavor so I always add it.  I even waited until today to make it because I was out of buttermilk yesterday.  It thins the dressing a bit and adds a wonderful flavor.  

Shelf life of mix :1 year  --I put it in a ziplock bag and write on the ranch recipe on the outside with a sharpie.  Then when I pull out the baggie I know exactly what to do to make the dressing without having to look it up again.

Shelf life of dressing:  3 weeks in the fridge.