I love finding a new recipe for a homemade dressing. Anything you can make that makes vegetables taste delicious is a winner in my book. This dressing has only a few ingredients, but tastes much more complex. It comes together in a cinch and you can save it for days and reuse it. If you're bored of the same old same old dressing, give this one a try. 

Dressing Ingredients: 

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 good quality balsamic vinegar

1/2 clove garlic

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper 

You want to add all of your ingredients except for the olive oil into a mini prep, and blend them together. Then slowly add the oil so it can emulsify. Blend until smooth and fully incorporated. 

For this particular salad we used shredded romaine hearts, radishes, grilled chicken, cherry tomatoes, croutons, and blue cheese dressing. The previous day I made this salad we used feta cheese, spinach, cucumbers, and almonds. Both of these salads were fantastic. That's the great thing about a good dressing. You can put it on about anything and it will taste fantastic. 

Enjoy!

This salad has got it all. Wonderful smokey protein, crunchy greens, crispy salty cheese rounds, and soft mustardy potatoes. They all come together for a delicious and beautiful dish. If this salad doesn't say "get in my belly" to you, then I don't know how to help you. 

Ingredients: 

20 large shrimp

1 head romain lettuce, chopped

6 large red potatoes 

1 egg

1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs 

1 tsp lavender herbs de provence 

6 ounces goat cheese (in log form)

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 tablespoon vinegar

 lavender salt 

1/4 tsp pepper 

1/4 cup olive oil

Spray Olive Oil

Directions: 

Turn on your broiler. 
Boil some water in a sauce pan. 
Chop your potatoes into half length wise and then width wise so they form bite sized chunks. 
Add your potatoes to the boiling water and simmer until fork tender (about 15 minutes). 
In a bowl mix together an egg an 1/4 tsp pepper. 
In a separate bowl mix together your bread crumbs and 1/2 tsp lavender herbs de provence. 
Slice your goat cheese into 6 disks. 
Dip your disks into the egg then breadcrumbs, then place on a greased baking sheet. 
Spray the tops of your disks with olive oil cooking spray to help them crisp up, broil for 5 minutes. 
In a mason jar shake together olive oil, mustard, vinegar, 1/4 tsp lavender salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.
When your potatoes are done and still hot, cover them in 1/2 of the dressing mixture. 
Let the potatoes cool in the fridge while you grill your shrimp. 
Pat your shrimp dry and then coat with lavender salt, herbs de provence, and pepper. Spray with oil. 
Grill on each side until pink and cooked through, with a nice char on them. 
Add the rest of the dressing to your lettuce and mix the lettuce and potatoes together. 
Serve the goat cheese rounds and shrimp on top of the bed of lettuce. 

This is a great end of summer salad. The shrimp and lettuce are nice and crunchy and the addition of the potatoes makes it very hearty. The dressing is so easy and just a tangy perfection. Enjoy!

I love it when I make a salad and my husband goes back for seconds. That is how I can tell if its a winner or not. I actually made this salad as a side for a meal we were having. But it was so good and so filling that neither of us were hungry after we ate it! Its sweet and crunchy, with nice salty notes from the feta. I'm certain you will enjoy it. 

For the salad: 
1 head romaine lettuce
1 apple, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup cashews, lightly toasted

For the dressing: 
2/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup white sugar
1/8 cup water
juice of 1/2 of lemon
zest of 1/2 of lemon
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon lavender sea salt 

Wash and chop your lettuce, roast your nuts, slice your apple, assemble your salad ingredients. Wisk all your dressing ingredients together until the sugar is dissolved and the ingredients have combined. Pour over your lettuce and you are all set to go. I like to slice the other half of my lemon and add lemon wedges to the salad as well for a garnish for those that like things extra tart. 

This turned out to be a beautiful summer salad. Not only is it colorful, but its sweet and savory at the same time. That is such a winning combination. Enjoy!

Caesar Salads are one of our easy go to meals. We aren't big on bottled dressings around here. In fact, I don't think I've bought a bottle of salad dressing in years! Why would you want to when you can whip up a homemade version that tastes better, is less expensive, and just as easy? This salad is so good. A garlicy dressing with a savory bite to it, the salty parmesan  and don't get me started on these crunchy on the outside chewy on the inside herbalicious croutons. So so good. 

Dressing: 
1 tsp salt
1 garlic clove (minced in a garlic press)
3 tsp anchovy paste
2 egg yolks (no whites!) 
1 tbs dijon mustard
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tbs water
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan 
1/2 tsp pepper 
Mix all of your dressing ingredients in a mini prep food processor as you add them so that the olive oil can emulsify. If you don't have a mini prep, you can use a whisk, just beat it super hard until it all mixes together.)

Salad: 
2 heads romaine lettuce, washed, spun in salad spinner, and cut up into bite sized pieces
Homemade croutons (see recipe below)
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1-2 breasts cooked chicken, cut up into bite sized pieces and cooled

Croutons: 
Cut 1/2 of an Italian loaf bread into large squares. 
Spray the bread with your olive oil mister. (Or just drizzle if you don't have a mister).
Sprinkle liberally with Italian seasoning.
Season with salt and pepper. 
Bake in oven at 425 for 10 minutes. 
These are flavorful, crunchy on the outside yet a little tender on the inside. They are much healthier and yummier than any type of crouton you can get in the store. Look at these beauties!

Once you have your dressing and croutons made, you can simply assemble your salad and serve it immediately  This will make about 4 meal sized salads. This is the type of caesar salad you would expect to be served at a lovely restaurant, only now you can enjoy it at home in just minutes. 

Bon Appetite!