Some Recipes to Share

I’ve been making some yummy stuff lately! I wanted to share a few of them.

One thing I’ve been doing lately is making my own salad dressing. I love it! It’s easy, tasty, and much healthier than bottled stuff. Michael and I both love blue cheese dressing. I used to buy the Lighthouse brand, which is delicious, but it has a bunch of extra stuff in it. Like one thing I think is canola oil? Which is not necessarily the best oil for you. Some dressings have palm oil in them, which is apparently not great for your heart. (I prefer things like Olive or Avocado Oil.)

I’ve tried a few different recipes now and have tweaked some to get the recipe just right. Here is one that I’ve liked so far (sorry I don’t have a link):

Blue Cheese Dressing

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayo

3 TB buttermilk or heavy cream

3 tsp red wine vinegar

1/4 tsp garlic salt (I used a little more than that)

Pepper

4 ounces crumbled blue cheese (I used 5 oz)

Chives, diced

Dash of Worcestershire sauce (not too much because it make it sweet)

I like this recipe a lot. There was one I made before this that was not my favorite.

Lemon Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 small garlic clove, grated
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, more to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon honey or maple syrup, optional
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme, optional

Instructions

• In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, garlic, mustard, salt, pepper, and honey, if using.
• Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking and continue to whisk until the dressing is emulsified. Alternatively, combine everything in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake to combine.
• If your dressing is too tangy, add more olive oil, to taste.
• Add the thyme, if desired, and season to taste. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week. The olive oil will solidify a bit in the fridge. To soften, let the dressing sit at room temp for a few minutes and stir before using.

It was super delicious! I had to change a little bit–it was very very tart. But I added a splash more olive oil, about 1 more teaspoon of dijon and a teeny bit more honey (I didn’t measure the honey) and it was near perfect.

Creamy Cucumber Salad

INGREDIENTS

• 3 c. thinly sliced peeled cucumbers
• 1 c. thinly sliced red onion
• ½ c. Kroger sour cream
• 1 Tbsp. white vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. minced fresh dill
• 1 tsp. granulated sugar
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. garlic powder

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a medium mixing bowl stir together sour cream, vinegar, dill, sugar, salt, and garlic powder.
2. Add cucumbers and red onion; toss to coat.
3. Cover and refrigerate 2 or more hours.

NUTRITION INFORMATION:

 YIELD: 8 SERVING SIZE: 1
Amount Per Serving: CALORIES: 47 TOTAL FAT: 3g SATURATED FAT: 1g TRANS FAT: 0g UNSATURATED FAT: 1g CHOLESTEROL: 8mg SODIUM: 151mg CARBOHYDRATES: 6g FIBER: 1g SUGAR: 3g PROTEIN: 1g

I liked the cucumber salad a lot. It does not keep long, the dressing turns running, so it’s better for one meal.