::recipe:: Our House Dressing

My favorite grocery store sells this fabulous dressing. The only problem is that it's seven bucks a bottle. And, we're not talking a big bottle, like the one you see here. It's a little bottle, and let me tell you people, it goes fast. So, I was in a mad race to figure this one out. How hard could it be to whip up a garlic essence vinaigrette?

This is what you will need...

Start with your garlic. You will need five cloves.

Do you know the secret of how to loosen the outer shell of the garlic clove? Put the clove underneath your knife, and give it a whack. The outer shell will loosen, making it much easier to peel.

Peel your garlic cloves. Garlic makes everything better...don't ya think?

And, then drop five of them into the bottom of your dressing jar.

For the next part, I use a big tupperware bowl that has a really good seal. Add your vinegar, oil, sugar, pepper, salt, granulated garlic, and oregano flakes to the bowl. See the recipe below. Give it quite a few shakes, until all is dissolved and mixed well. Pour the contents of the bowl into your dressing jar. Eventually, the garlic cloves will sink to the bottom of the jar...

The Douglas House Dressing {garlic essence vinaigrette}

5 cloves garlic

1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup canola oil

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp. sea salt

2 tsp. granulated garlic

1 tsp. oregano flakes

Yields about 2 cups

It has a nice honey color, is sweet and tangy all at the same time and is WONDERFUL on salads. It can also be used as a marinade for meat, chicken, fish, and roasted veggies. I've used it on pasta salad and on a summer salad, filled with tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, red onion, and cantaloupe. Usually when I make it, I double or triple the recipe. We use it on everything, and it keeps well in the fridge.

If you give it a try, I hope you like it as much as we do. It's the only dressing that we want in our house these days.

So dear south Texas grocery store with your name of three initials,

I've got you beat on this one. All of the gourmet products that you sample, with all of the nifty little recipe cards, really are wonderful, but are also so good at turning a hundred dollar grocery bill into two hundred...fast. I'm done with your gourmet, over priced dressing, but I do plan to keep on shopping with you. I'll just be mixing my oil and vinegar at home, for at lot less dough.

love,

mother of two

who on occasion does "eat lunch" via all of those samples...

Emma and Carson do too.