We had company over on Wednesday and I went all out (as I love to do) for dinner. Lasagna, green beans, garlic bread, and homemade apple pie for dessert. I even picked up an $0.88 bag of mixed salad because, hey, it was only $0.88.
And I didn’t have to buy salad dressing because, well, I could have SWORN I had some in the fridge.
And you know I didn’t. Otherwise this would be an awfully boring post.
“And I came home, and found the dressing, and had a wonderful dinner.”
“The End.”
Nope, that’s not how life goes when you have company coming over and absolutely no time to run to the store. Plus, I had already filled the grocery part of my budget.
(This is where the “Frugal Friday” connection comes in.)
So I cracked open my dog-eared copy of Better Homes and Garden Cookbook and … I made my own salad dressing! It only took fifteen minutes and the guests loved it.
Creamy French Dressing
Ingredients:
3 Tbs vinegar
2 Tbs sugar
2 tsp paprika
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dry mustard
Dash ground red pepper
3/4 c salad oil or olive oil (I’m wondering if canola oil would work as well; it would make this a lot cheaper, that’s for sure!)
In a small mixing bowl, blender container, or food processor bowl, combine everything but the oil. With mixer, blender, or food processor running, slowly add oil in a thin, steady stream. (This should take 2 to 3 minutes.) Continue mixing, blending, or processing until mixture reaches desired consistency.
Serve immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Stir before serving.
Out of curiosity, does anyone else get as giddy as I do when I realize I have the means to make something I had previously thought I could only purchase at a store?!
That dressing sounds really good! I love the cookbook, but I’ve never attempted any of the dressing recipes. I’ll definitely remember them now though! It’s nice knowing that not only can you make things instead of buying them at the store, but you can make them out of things you already have on hand. I read the ingredients and thought “Wow…I have all of those in the pantry…I want to go make dressing!” 🙂
Take care!
You really are awesome, Beth. I love how you make things work out in the end!!
Love you.
“Out of curiosity, does anyone else get as giddy as I do when I realize I have the means to make something I had previously thought I could only purchase at a store?!”
Oh, my YES!!! That’s my favorite part of learning to cook. A few years ago I vowed to eliminate (okay – drastically reduce) my dependence on velveeta and cream of ______ soup for recipes. And, guess what — I’ve found much tastier, healthier and usually cheaper ways to make all my favorite dishes. Plan ahead a little, and it really doesn’t take that much more time. 🙂
Canola oil should work just as well. Turns out, there is no such thing as “salad oil” it basically is a general term for most vegetable oils. And canola oil happens to be one of the healthiest oils out there, it has just as much mono- and poly-unsaturated fats as olive oil, at a much cheaper price!
Katherine, I would like to know what you substitute for cream of _____ soup. Please share!
You forgot to add:
1/2 tbsp of Arrogant French Accent
(Because it is “French” dressing after all)
😉
So, you could have posted this like 3 days earlier….
Last weekend, I bought a bagged salad at Target for $1.19 – $1 coupon = .19 Great deal! The plan was to make it my lunch for two days at work- great idea! Except, when I’m in a hurry to leave for work Wednesday, my husband waiting for me in the car, I grab the bag of salad and search frantically for salad dressing. None to be found.
I ate two days of dry salad at work. Not my favorite.
Oh, you bet I get giddy! It saves me money, saves me a trip to the store and saves me weird ingredients I can’t pronounce when I make my own things, LOL!
I love home made salad dressing. I’ve printed this recipe out to try–thanks!
Larissa – I actually posted about a substitute I use here: http://www.thenaturalmommy.com/2007/08/24/homemade-cream-soup-mix/
It’s still not the *healthiest* as it uses chicken bouillon, but at least it doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup. and it saves a ton of space in the cabinets!
Salad dressings are fairly pricey here (since it’s an American thing; Dominicans make their own). Daniel’s “family dressing” is super close to this one but it uses red wine vinegar and no paprika. Lime juice, oil, and salt also make a good dressing. Sometimes if I’m trying to be healthy I just mix some water and vinegar and salt and it’s pretty good (and tangy). Of course, I add lots of black pepper it too! Oh, P.S. Do you have any good crock pot recipes?
Oh, I just checked out your cream soup mix. That’s great! Cream soups here are so expensive! Thanks for posting it!!!