What is your favorite salad? I would have to say I have 3 favorites…..steak and blue….chicken and pear….and Asian chicken salad. Don’t you feel like you’re being healthy when you have a salad? Even if it’s loaded with candied walnuts, cranberries, blue cheese…..hahahhaha. Ok, well a salad like that isn’t exactly healthy. I never have those kind…..ever. Only once. Maybe a few times….ok, today. But I didn’t have the candied walnuts. I was out of those.

Ok, so whatever salad you like, you need a tasty dressing, right? This is a simple one that you just shake up in a jar. You can use it as a base and add so many different things to it to change it up. Not only is it good on a green salad or pasta salad, it also makes a great marinade for chicken and dipping sauce for bread!

So, check out my salad . Doesn’t it look healthy? Focus on the greens…not on the blue cheese. Don’t you feel healthy already?

Change-it-up Salad Dressing

4 cloves of fresh garlic, minced or grated
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup red wine vinegar or 1/4 cup red wine vinegar and 1/4 cup lemon juice
1  1/2 cup olive oil or vegetable oil, or mixture of both
1/2 cup white wine or water
2 Tblsp finely grated parmesan cheese (optional)
2 Tblsp chives or green onion, minced very fine (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Put everything in a jar. Shake it up. Store in the refrigerator.
– If using as a chicken marinade, just pour it over chicken and allow to marinate for at least 4 hours.

optional add ins:
– add 2 Tblsp soy sauce, 1 Tblsp fresh grated ginger and 1 Tblsp peanut butter
– add 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
– add 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
– add 1 Tblsp taco seasoning (but omit salt )
– add 2 Tblsp fresh cilantro, minced fine and 1/2 of a mashed up avocado