Italian Salad Dressing

Why is salad dressing so important? Why are there millions of different kids of salad dressing? ( I am not exaggerating! I am in the US right now, and just walked through the salad dressing aisle.... there are millions.) 

I've already shared with you a recipe for Homemade Ranch,
Ranch Mix

 but I'd like to share another salad dressing with you ladies. I've been enjoying Italian Salad dressing a lot lately! What I really enjoy about this recipe is that it is so easy to change up and do something different and new with it. I normally don't follow a recipe more than a couple of times before I start adding or subtracting ingredients. Here is a recipe that I found written on an old recipe card at my grandma's house. I made it once, enjoyed it, but decided it needed a little more of this....and little less of that...and adapted it to fit my taste. Try this recipe out, and if you think it can be adjusted, then adjust it! That is one of the most amazing things about home cooking vs restaurant or store bought food.  You can manipulate things to satisfy your specific taste. Sometimes I have three or four different variations of a recipe, and depending on what else I may be cooking, or how I am feeling, or what ingredients are in the pantry, I mix things up. So, here is a dry mix for Italian Salad Dressing (or Greek if you switch a few ingredients around). 

Italian Dry Dressing

2 tablespoons oregano

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon sugar 

1 tablespoon parsley

1 teaspoon cracked pepper

1 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon thyme

2 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons dry mix (or 3 tablespoons if you want more kick)

1/4 cup vinegar

2/3 cup olive oil or avocado oil (if you don"t have either one of those, vegetable oil will work) 

Mix well and serve over salad. 

Keep in mind that olive oil is very strong, so if you want a milder taste, use half or a quarter of the olive oil and substitute the rest for whatever oil you prefer. 

To make this more Greek take out the oregano, basil and parsley, and squeeze some fresh lemon juice into the dressing. 

To make this more Mexican (sounds weird, but tastes great!) substitute the oregano for ground oregano, basil for a tablespoon of cilantro, and take out the thyme completely. 

There you go! I hope you enjoy this recipe and its variations. If you have any other suggestions on how to make another variation, I would love to hear about it! 

Amber Wells 

Papua New Guinea