Christina's Honey Dijon Balsamic Vinaigrette

from barefeetinthekitchen.blogspot.com

2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly crushed black pepper, finely ground
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the honey, balsamic, mustard, salt, pepper and garlic. Add the oil and whisk thoroughly to combine. Continue whisking until the dressing is fully emulsified.

Store in a jar with a lid and refrigerate. Shake well before serving. Enjoy!

Side note: If you choose to make this in the blender (as I like to do for almost every other recipe) this will be a thicker dressing. Still delicious, simply thicker. I prefer the consistency of this particular dressing when whisked by hand.

Christina's Maple Vinaigrette

from Perry's Plate

1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the basil and mustard. Whisk in the vinegar, maple syrup, lemon juice, and garlic. Slowly pour the oil into the mixture while whisking. Whisk for about 15-20 seconds until mixture has emulsified and thickened slightly. Whisk in salt and pepper, adjusting to suit your tastes. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. (Makes about 1 1/2 cups of dressing.)

Christina's Ranch Dressing

adapted from Our Best Bites

1C mayonnaise
2/3 C buttermilk 

1 TBSP dried chives

2 t parsley  

1/2 t seasoned salt 

1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder

1/4 t black pepper

1/4 t dill

1/4 t dry mustard

Mix it all together and let it sit. Can use a combination of Greek yogurt or regular yogurt and mayo. Can also add canola oil to thin. 

Tomatillo-Ranch Salad Dressing

adapted from Our Best Bites

1 Cup Buttermilk

1 Cup Mayo

1 Pckg. Dry Buttermilk Ranch dressing mix

2 Tomatillos (husked)

2 Jalapenos

½ Bunch cilantro

Juice from ½ Fresh Lime

1 Clove Garlic

Puree all ingredients in blender for 30 seconds.  Refrigerate until chilled.

Christina's Honey Mustard Dressing

original recipe

1/3 C olive oil
1 TBSP red wine vinegar
1 TBSP Dijon mustard (I used a rounded tablespoon)
1 TBSP honey
salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all up and let it blend. Variations: use lemon instead of vinegar and possibly add grated onion or shallot.

Christina's Thai Peanut Dressing

from Our Best Bites

Can be used as a salad dressing (add 2-4 TBSP water to get a good consistency) or a dipping sauce for satay.

1/2 C peanut butter
1 lime, juiced and zested
2 1/2 t sesame oil
1 T seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 T soy sauce
3 T honey
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 T minced ginger
1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro (stems and all)
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/4 t kosher salt
2-3 t Sriracha chili sauce*

Blend it all together. Makes about two cups.

*If you don't have chili sauce or can't find it, just toss in a little crushed red pepper, but not too much! Chili sauce isn't actually very hot, and you don't want any hot spice overpowering the flavor.

Christina's Cilantro-Lime Marinade/Vinaigrette

from Our Best Bites

1/4 c. fresh lime juice
1/4 c. white wine vinegar or rice vinegar
4-5 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. Kosher or sea salt
2 tsp. sugar
1 c. canola oil
1/2 c. roughly chopped cilantro, stems removed

In the jar of your blender, combine lime juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, and sugar. Blend until ingredients are completely combined. With the blender running, add the oil in a steady stream. Add cilantro and blend until the cilantro has broken down but still maintains some of its texture. Serve with greens, on any type of Mexican salad, or use as a marinade for any meat.

Christina's Steak and Mango Salad

from Our Best Bites

1lb steak (the original recipe said flank steak... I don't know the difference between the cuts, so I used whatever we had and it was good)
1 head romaine lettuce or green-lettuce mix 
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 mangoes, sliced
2 avocados sliced
cilantro sprigs for garnish
1/2 C caramelized macadamia nuts (optional, I left them out and they were fine)

Dressing and Marinade


Side note: I thought this made a great marinade, but was lacking as a dressing. I think I would add some grated onion, more brown sugar, orange zest and maybe even a little teriyaki sauce (just a little!) to the dressing. I think pineapple juice could also be good.

1/2 C fresh squeezed orange juice
6 T fresh lime juice
6 T soy sauce
1/2 C brown sugar
1 1/2 T fresh ginger or 1 1/2 tsp dried ginger (I used dried since I don't like ginger chunks.)
3 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
1 C olive oil

In a bowl, whisk together the orange juice, lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic (and any extra ingredients you might be tossing in). Whisk until sugar is dissolved. Continue whisking while slowly drizzling in the olive oil until combined. Reserve about 3/4 C* (you could also just choose to add any ingredients to this reserved mix as it will be the dressing) and place the rest of the mixture in a zip-lock bag.

*Important note: Make sure when you're pouring out the 3/4 C you are constantly mixing the mixture to assure even distribution of ingredients.

Lightly score the steak in a diagonal pattern on both sides. Place steak in the zip-lock bag with marinade and leave in fridge for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

Caramelize the macadamia nuts, if you want to add them. Basically you saute them in 2 T brown sugar, 1/2 T light corn syrup, 1/2 T butter and 1/8 tsp cinnamon (optional) for about 5 minutes or until they smell fragrant. Like I said, I didn't do this. No nuts and no time. 
Remove steak from fridge about 30 minutes prior to cooking and leave at room temperature. You'll want to let the dressing portion to sit at room temp during this time as well. Heat grill (or grill pan for those of us without grills) to med-high heat. Remove steak from bag and let any excess marinade drip off if cooking on a grill. If using a grill pan, cook it right in the marinade. Cook steak for about 5-8 minutes on each side or until done. In order to stay tender, steak should still be pink in the middle, but nicely seared on the outside. When done, remove from grill and wait at least 5 minutes before cutting to let the juices redistribute. Then slice into thin slices.

Divide lettuce onto plates and top with slices of mango, avocado, and red onion. Add steak slices and drizzle with dressing. Sprinkle macadamia nuts on top and garnish with cilantro.

Christina's Greek Pizza

original recipe

1 batch pizza dough
2 T Greek viniagrette dressing
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1/2 tub of crumbled feta cheese (2 ounces)
1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch rounds and roasted (45 minutes in an oven at 450 degrees)
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced into rounds

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Press the pizza dough into a rimmed cookie sheet. Brush Greek vinaigrette onto dough. Top with all toppings except the tomato. Bake 15-20 minutes or until crust is browned. Take from oven, cut into slices and top each with a slice of tomato. Enjoy!

P.S. I am not an olive fan, but for those of you who are, I think this would be good with some olives on top. Also, I added some mozarella chunks because I had them leftover in my fridge from making rice balls and it was great, so if you have some mozarella feel free to add it!

Christina's Poppyseed Dressing

adapted from Our Best Bites

1/3 c. white vinegar
1 tsp. Kosher salt
A few turns of freshly ground black pepper
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 green onion, ends removed (both the "hairy" end and where the green part starts to get floppy)--I left this out and it was fine.
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. poppy seeds

In a blender, combine vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar, and mustard. While the blender is running, add the green onion. Continue running the blender and add the oil in a steady stream and is fully incorporated into the dressing.

Pour the dressing into a serving or storage container and whisk in poppy seeds. Serve over leafy greens.

P.S. I liked this dressing, but didn't think it was amazing. I thought it was a lot better after I added about 1/3 cup Dijon mustard.

Christina's Grilled Chicken Salad

1/4 cup grape seed oil or olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon dried dillweed
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
4 medium skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Montreal steak seasoning or Kansas City steak seasoning
8 cups spinach
3/4 cup seedless red grapes, halved
1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

1. For vinaigrette, in a screw-top jar combine oil, vinegar, dillweed, garlic, pepper, and oregano. Cover and shake well; let stand 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, sprinkle chicken breast halves lightly with steak seasoning. Grill chicken on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals for 12 to 15 minutes or until tender and no longer pink (170 degree F), turning once. Cool slightly.
3. Arrange salad greens on 4 plates; top with grapes, goat cheese, and pine nuts. Slice each chicken breast and arrange one sliced breast on each salad. Shake dressing and drizzle over the salads.