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Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Creamy Balsamic Dressing

We're back from another vacation and it's time to shed some "Hey, I'm on vacation" pounds. On Monday, my hubby and I typed up a meal plan for the next week so that we stick to the diet. This means that I'll be cooking more and I'm happy about that. I'm so glad I'll be home for the next 6 weeks with no travel.

Today I woke up a little early and started putting together a salad for our lunches. I'd been thinking about it since yesterday when I went on a Costco run and also received my CSA farm food. Romaine lettuce, (leftover) asparagus, cucumbers, feta cheese, rotisserie chicken, and garbanzo beans (I splurged and bought a Costco case of garbanzo beans!). All I needed to do was wash, rinse, and chop. And make a salad dressing.


Salad dressing is something that I rarely buy in a bottle. Growing up, my mom would always make her own vinaigrette from scratch (and still does!). I also learned how to make simple ones while I lived in Paris from 2003-2005. Since I learned how easy and delicious it was, I've never gone back to the bottle - except for ranch.

Recently, my husband asked if I could get a little more creative with my dressings. I didn't blame him. My standard is vinegar or lemon juice, Dijon mustard, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little honey. Sometimes I feel wild and will throw in some Herbes de Provence. Today, I decided I'd experiment a little further with something creamy.

 The ingredient list. Notice the jar of mustard is empty. I used it because it only had a little left.
 Remember to use what you've got!

I looked in my fridge and found sour cream and milk. I checked out my cupboards and saw balsamic vinegar. Hmm. Why not? I mixed them. Here's the recipe:

Creamy (Light*) Balsamic Dressing (makes about 1 cup)
1/4 c. (light) mayonnaise
3 Tbsp (light) sour cream
1/4 c. milk
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp whole grain mustard (you could use dijon also, there would just be less texture)
1 tsp Herbes de Provence
salt & pepper to taste
*because we're trying to lose weight

Mix all the ingredients together. Top your favorite green salad. Enjoy!

2 comments:

  1. Love homemade dressing! This looks delish! - Allison

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  2. Have you seen this?
    http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/06/salad-dressing-bottle-recipe.html

    My inadvertent method of losing vacation weight: I got all 4 of my wisdom teeth out the week after I got back from the cruise. :P It's totally working, I have very little appetite and cravings. I went to a delicious bridal shower yesterday and was so sad, I could only nibble!

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