Homemade Vinaigrette

Yesterday I made a super yummy pasta salad (it had Barilla Piccolini Mini-Farfalle pasta, home grown tomatoes, home grown peppers, feta cheese, home marinated artichokes, and a YUMMY homemade vinaigrette).   I thought I’d share the recipe  here….salad dressings are expensive, filled with lots of preservatives, and something that my family can’t live without 🙂   (We eat a lot of salads).  In the past year I’ve been making most of our salad dressings from scratch. Here’s my recipe for the vinaigrette that I make (I vary it slightly each time by using different vinegars).

Homemade Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

In a pint size jar, or small bowl add:

• 1/2 cup vinegar (I use a different one each time…sometimes balsamic, white balsamic, rice wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, etc)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon sweetener (sugar, agave nectar, honey)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. dried sweet basil
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Whisk together or cover jar with lid and shake all ingredients together.

Store in refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.

Use dressing for salads, pasta salad, marinating meats and vegetables…however you would use a bottled italian salad dressing.