How often do you make homemade salad dressing? Monthly, weekly, uh…never?

Because I can buy commercial salad dressing so cheaply with coupons, I rarely make it. I’m not sure why, but it always seems like too much effort.

Convenience is easier, no doubt about it. But when you consider health, is it worth it? The list of ingredients on a salad dressing bottle is frightening! I don’t want to fill my body with tons of preservatives, additives, and other scary stuff.

When we break it down, homemade salad dressing is actually a very simple recipe, comprised of 3 parts:

1. Oil

Most recipes call for olive oil, but don’t feel boxed in. Sesame oil, Nut oils (walnut, hazelnut, etc), Coconut oil, and even plain old canola oil are great options.

2. Acid

Typically, it’s vinegar, but you can also try citrus juice. I find that lemon or lime works best.

3. Seasonings

Fresh or dried herbs, mustard, honey, and/or garlic will add a ton of flavor! Don’t forget the salt and pepper. A little tabasco will make it extra spicy.

The basic ratio is 3 parts oil to 1 part acid which translates to 3/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup acid for the average recipe. I’m not into the whole whisking bit, so I recommend pouring the ingredients right into a recycled glass bottle and shaking until emulsified.

Basic Vinaigrette:

*  3/4 cup olive oil

*  1/4 cup white vinegar

*  1 TSP honey

*  1 TSP Dijon mustard

*  2 TSP fresh herbs  (Parsley and Thyme are great mixed.)

*  Salt/pepper to taste

Homemade salad dressing should keep in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. It does need to be shaken each time it’s used, so don’t worry if it separates slightly. Not only is this good for salad, I love to marinate meat in it, too.

Need more inspiration? The Food Network has 50 dressing recipes to choose from!

Since I’m still on my cold supper kick, I decided to make Veggie Pasta Salad for last night’s dinner, served alongside a prepared rotisserie chicken and French bread.

There are probably a million versions of pasta salad, and I love most of them. I never seem to make it the same way twice, because I like to use up whatever ingredients I have on hand. That cuts down on extra trips to the store and makes good use of a hodge-podge of veggies.

This version is completely parve, since soy cheese was used. Regular cheese can be substituted for a dairy meal. (The cheese can be left out entirely if you wish. Compensate with a little extra salt.)

To make Veggie Pasta Salad, you will need:

*  A box of rotini pasta—cooked,drained, and rinsed in cold water. (I used Tri-Colored, but it works just as well with plain.)

*  A container of cherry tomatoes, halved

*  1 1/2 cups of cucumbers, peeled. (I had a huge bunch of these to use up. Half went into this recipe & the others were for Marinated Cucumbers.)

*  1 can of sliced black olives

*  1 can of chickpeas  (If you have extra, these are awesome roasted!)

*  3 scallions, chopped

*  1/2 cup soy cheese shreds

*  Salad dressing  (I used 3/4 of a bottle of Kraft Viva Italian.)

*  Juice of a lemon

*  Salt/pepper to taste.

Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Toss until evenly coated. Chill for at least a few hours and overnight is fine, too. Leftover Veggie Pasta Salad is quite good, but it may require a little extra dressing.

Xtra Mart is offering free coffee today and on the first of every month! Want a second free cup? Become their fan on Facebook!

If you’re at Xtra Mart often, get their Coffee Club card in-store. For every 6 coffees bought, you get a freebie.

I’ll be getting a French Vanilla. Yum!

The Heat Wave is back on here in New England!

Whenever the weather channel predicts high temperatures coupled with humidity, I like to prepare in advance by bulk cooking, especially meat. (Sometimes this is also called Freezer cooking, but I never freeze cooked meat. After it’s been frozen, cooked, and then re-thawed, it’s usually dry. Yuck!)

On Monday evening, I pulled out some free ground beef and got to work, cooking enough to last for several meals. This not only saves time, but also money—using the oven/stove once, washing the dishes once, chopping, etc.

When bulk cooking, it helps to make a meat that’s extremely versatile, like this recipe for Spicy Ground Beef. To bulk cook meat, I simply brown ground beef on the stove, with garlic, onions and peppers. (I’m still trying to use up all the Bird’s Eye freebies!) Salt is a must, and I added a lone tomato, too, because it was in the kitchen. If you need to stretch it, some black beans will do wonders!

Spicy Ground Beef makes a great base for many other meals. Try any of these:

* Taco Salad

* Chili

* Sloppy Joes

* Burritos

* Pot Pies

* Nachos

* Sliders

* Filling for Stuffed Cabbage

* Beef Vegetable Soup

* Stuffed Peppers

* Goulash

* Mexican Lasagna

* Dirty Rice

I love having a fridge full of cooked food, especially when I’m too tired to make dinner. By planning ahead, I have saved tons of dollars and calories that would’ve been wasted on fast food!