How To Make Fresh Salad Dressing Fast

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Making great tasting, fresh, salad dressing is faster than you think. You simply toss a few ingredients into a bowl, whisk these together and then add some more ingredients and then taste and adjust if necessary. These kinds of homemade salad dressings are so light  and yet have a lot of strong flavor.

These are the kind of dressings that are usually served in little French Bistro restaurants on their gourmet salads.  So light and tasty are these dressings that they really highlight the flavors of the vegetables.

The trick is to find the balance between the olive oil and the lemon juice (or vinegar). If you start with the thought that Salad Dressings are typically 1/3 acid (lemon juice or vinegar) and 2/3 olive oil, then you are on the right path.

Once you have made fresh salad dressing a couple of times, you will just love how easy they are to make  and  also the fact that you can make your salad dressing fresh whenever you want to.

A basic Salad Dressing recipe only has a few ingredients:

  • Olive Oil
  • Lemon juice or vinegar (we like to use Apple Cider Vinegar or Balsamic Vinegar)
  • Mustard
  • Salt and Pepper

1. Start by adding 1Tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to your bowl. Then add about 1 Teaspoon of mustard and a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk together until smooth.

2. Now, while you are whisking, add 2Tablespoons of olive oil to the bowl and keep whisking until they are well combined.

3. Taste (use a piece of lettuce) and see if you need to add more lemon or olive oil, or if more salt or pepper is necessary.

The great thing about making fresh salad dressing at home is that you can make a small amount for a salad one day, and then the next time you make it, you can totally change it up by using a different vinegar or adding a bunch of chopped herbs (thyme or tarragon are especially good).

We hope you are intrigued to make some fresh home-made salad dressing the next time you are having a salad. Please let us know what combination you used and what you thought.

Trader Joe’s Feta Cheese

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Trader Joe's Feta Cheese

Trader Joe's Feta Cheese

Now that the weather is consistently warm here in Tucson, we are enjoying more salads. So when we had a hankering for a chopped Greek Salad we also had an opportunity to check out the selection of Feta cheeses at Trader Joes. We have tried a couple of other kinds of Feta in other stores, but this Trader Joe’s Feta Cheese is just top of the list.

This 8 oz brick of cheese can be cut up into cubes and marinated in olive oil and oregano and served as an appetizer or as Tapas.

But we prefer to break it apart with our hands, and crumble it into chunks both large and small and use on top of salads. Especially those chopped Greek Salads… YUM!!

What we do is to chop or dice up cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions (small chop!)  and then mix these all up with light, lemony vinaigrette. This can be served up in bowls as-is or on top of a bed of lettuce.

Then just before you serve, sprinkle the top with the Trader Joe’s Feta Cheese crumbles, so they stay on top and make a beautiful contrasting picture against all the red tomatoes and green cucumbers.

If you have not tried this salad before we urge you to get chopping! They are truly refreshing and light and yet full of flavor for a hot summer night.

Do you like Feta Cheese? Have you tried Trader Joe’s Feta Cheese? What did you think? Please take a minute to leave a comment after this post. Even if you just want to say hello we  love to hear from all our readers!

Trader Joe’s Mediterranean Hummus

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Trader Joe's Hummus

Trader Joe's Hummus

As you read in a previous post,  (click here)we like to snack on hummus and veggies.

Well, we have discovered a great new hummus at Trader Joe’s.

Well, to be completely truthful, we were shopping at Trader Joe’s and I was reaching for the hummus that we usually purchase, and well…. I grabbed the wrong one.

Ahh but sometime life takes these turns for the best, right? So we did not notice this slip until we were having some guests over and I brought out the hummus. It was only then did I realize that I bought a completely different package.

So, as luck would have it, as our guests were here, this hummus was just fantastic! What was the difference? Well, this Mediterranean hummus has perhaps a bit more garlic, and also has a wonderful garnish on the top of pine nuts, olive oil and herbs.

In our excitement, I forgot to take a photo before I stirred the hummus all together. Oops!

We served this yummy hummus with the usually veggies and some soft flatbreads as well.

The flat breads were also new-to us and they were like soft pita bread without a pocket- OR think of these breads as a light and thick tortilla. YUM!  We think these would make an excellent bread for a rolled sandwich (wrap) or fold over and serve with cream cheese and spinach inside?

Trader Joe's Flatbread

Trader Joe's Flatbread

All in the entire spread was wonderfully tasty and full of great Mediterranean flavors.

If you liked this post, please take a minute and leave a comment. Even if it is just to say hello, we love to hear from all our readers. Also let us know what you thought of this hummus or the flat breads.

Vita Mix: Blueberry Banana Almond Smoothie

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Making smoothie drinks at home is easy with a Vita Mix and items from Trader Joe’s.

Maybe it is the heat, or maybe it  is the end of another semester in graduate school and we are looking to try something new, but WOW  we  are making a lot of blender drinks (or smoothies) in our Vita Mix.

Click HERE to Get FREE shipping on your Vitamix

This week, the blueberries were calling to us, as was the heat, so in an effort to enjoy those yummy blueberries and keep cool, we used the remains of the blueberries in a smoothie.  In addition to those SuperBlues blueberries, we had other great ingredients from Trader Joe’s to select from: Bananas, Raw Almonds, Honey and Vanilla Yogurt.  How to choose….

Blueberry Almond Banana Smoothie

Blueberry Almond Banana Smoothie


So you can see that selecting the items is the hard part, making a Smoothie is actually easy with the Vita Mix. You simply add the ingredients and then let the strength and power of the motor make short work of blending everything into a smooth and creamy drink.

This drink was super easy and just delicious!

What you need:

  • 2 Cups cold water
  • 1 ripe banana
  • ½ cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
  • ¼ cup raw almonds
  • Honey to taste

How to:

Blend the water and the almonds together on High to make a smooth almond-milk. Then add the fruits and honey if using. Blend on High again until smooth. Taste and add more honey if you need to- depends on how sweet your banana is, right?

This will make about 3 cups of rich, fruity smoothie.

Variations:

  • Strawberries
  • Mango
  • Yogurt
  • Maple Syrup

There are so many variations possible- these are just a few of our favorites. Please feel free to share your favorite fruit smoothie combinations below.

We just love making drinks and soups in the Vita Mix.   When you add the fact that Trader Joe’s has a wonderful selection of produce, nuts and frozen items for sale, you can see there are a zillion items to make.  In fact,  we hope to share many more adventures in blending with you soon.

Have you checked out the Vita-Mix yet?  This super blender might be just what you need to reach your health goals. Take a look today

Click HERE to Get FREE shipping on your Vitamix

If you liked this post, please take a minute and leave a comment. Even if it is just to say hello, we love to hear from all our readers.

This item is Wheat Free/ Raw