Pear Dressing (& Favorite Salad Ingredients)
I have never been a huge fan of store-bought salad dressing. The various flavors on the market always sound so delicious and then once poured over my salad… well, they never taste nearly as good as I thought they would. For the past few months, I have been making homemade salad dressing or just using olive oil with freshly squeezed lemon juice and a little salt and pepper. It’s pretty simple, but in my opinion, better tasting and better for ya than store-bought.
Also, I have been so adventurous with my salads lately! I look in the fridge and basically throw in any veggies and fruits I have on hand… nothing is off-limits. Tonight I threw in tomatoes, apples and walnuts. I LOVE throwing nuts in salad… so yummy! Some other ingredients that tend to be in lots of my salad creations – red onions, spinach, avocado, berries, carrots and cucumbers. And one ingredient that I literally throw in most salads is fresh cilantro… I love the flavor it adds. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Also, I’d love to hear what your favorite salad ingredients are. I am always looking for new ideas to change-up the salads we eat on a regular basis.
Here’s one of my salad dressing creations I concocted recently…
Pear Dressing
yield: 10 SERVINGS
An easy recipe to create with ripe pears and a few extra ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 ripe pear, peeled and chopped
- 1 to 2 cloves garlic, either minced or pressed
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
- 1/3 cup white vinegar
- A few drops of Stevia (optional)
- 1 tablespoon of mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Directions
1
Blend everything (but olive oil) in Vitamix or blender.
2
Once blended, drizzle the olive oil slowly into the dressing and continue to blend until combined.
my fave salad is argula, feta and grilled watermelon. Dressed with salt, pepper and balsalmac vinigar. The griled watermelon tastes like salmon. Odd I know but soooooo good and different than the norm. Try it 🙂
Oh my… that sounds delicious! 🙂
Thanks! I make everthing else! why not dressing?? GREAT recipe!!
wow this is why i l o v e Hip2save
always something new and interesting
I think its a great topic cause we all want 2 loose faT ORSTAY HEALTHY…SALADS R THE WAY 2 do it …no doubt…..
i loove these recipies ….
im actually eating salad right now…lol…
mine has cilantro,mango,avocado,red roasted peppers,shrimps ,different lettuce…
and sweet-tangy dresing…..
thanxs Collin U r the best !!!!!!!!!!!!
sounds delicious! 🙂 I will have to try that dressing. I love everything u mentioned (in my salads)..also like raisins with apples, sunflower seeds..
and im printing these rdressing recipie….
grilled watermelon….wow
the dressings sound great, but please oh please do tell what those potato creations are in the background!
LOL! A little weekend project we did with the kiddos! 🙂
Hahaha. I was totally distracted by those little potato people. Love them!
I’m so glad I wasn’t the only one! At first I thought they were cucumbers! lol
first thing I seen also. We so are going to do that. Maybe it should be new recipe/craft time. Have not read all the feedback but are those stick pins in the potatoes? Funny about dressing. I go to Noodles once every other week get 1 strawberry/walnut spinach salads and then ask for 3 extra dressings and add a little water and oil to them to last me for my own stawberry spinach salads for the rest of the week. I so don’t cook tho but do try…. just never taste like I want it. I am so for this one tho. Thanks Hip!
Yum, that looks really good. I want to try your dressing recipe. My favorite salad has buffalo chicken with cherry tomatos, red onions, cucumbers & shredded cheddar cheese with Newmans Own dressing. Its a nice blend of spicy, sour, and creamy.
I like to add dried fruit to my salads. My current favorite is raisins especially Sunmaid Mixed Jumbo Raisins. Dried cranberries are good too.
I love dried cranberries on a salad as well! If you haven’t tried them yet, dried cherries are so yummy too! 🙂
I love salads! I love pears too and I’m excited to try this dressing. I like to thinly slice pears and put them on a salad of mixed field greens with crumbled goat cheese and toasted pecans. I couldn’t agree with you more…I love to experiment with different fruits, nuts, etc on salads…its hard to go wrong and its fun to try something new every time!! 🙂
that sounds awesome …
my husband doesnt like sweet fruits in salads so i dont add those but I def need 2 try it ..
after reading these posts…..!!!!
im printing this and making it tomorrow! I cant wait, and I too love going to Jason’s Deli and getting salad bar and putting all the veggies and fruit and nuts/seeds and Hummus on top thats my dressing! OR avocado is usually what I put but im willing to try something new! Thanks
My fave salad is mixed greens, gorgonzola cheese, walnuts, mandarin oranges and raspberry dressing.
A great salad dressing …
1 Ripe avocado
1/4 package tofu
1 T. lemon or lime
Splash of Worchestershire sauce
Blend all in food processor. Add salt & pepper as desired. Enjoy! And no oil!
thats sounds great
Mmmmm! I’m gonna try that. Thanks!
‘1 T. lemon or lime’ is that table spoon or tea spoon? Sounds great can’t wait to try it. Thanks.
Slightly off topic… how do you keep your lettuce fresh? It seems like I buy lettuce and it goes bad so soon after that it hardly lasts for more than one meal…. Any ideas/suggestions?
I’ve given up on the pre-packaged lettuces, b/c it seems like there’s always a handful of slimy lettuce that makes the whole thing smell (and taste) rotten. For quite awhile, I’ve gotten heads of whatever lettuces (and kale) that I like, take them home, cut them up into the right sized pieces, and rinse well in a salad spinner basket a few times, then spin all the water out. I save the now-dry lettuce, ready to go, in one of those produce green bags that helps veggies last. I keep a bag of ripped up kale handy for smoothies and lettuce is ready to go for salads or recipes.
Clean the greens and then wrap them in paper towels and put in ziploc bags with all the air pushed out. Works great, keeps them crisp.
Thats how I keep my herbs fresh for a long time.
I agree! Don’t buy bagged and pre-chopped salad they go bad really quickly. Instead buy a fresh a head of lettuce. In most stores you can find at least 1 of many varieties on sale. Last week I bought a whole head of red tipped leaf lettuce for for just over a dollar! Then wrap it in paper towels and put into a dry plastic bag of any kind, just make sure it’s sealed. The wetness is what makes salad go “bad” so quickly. The paper towels absorb the excess liquid preventing that! 🙂
well Im sure U all know that but sellers always put old bagged salads in a front 4 U 2 grab…
i always dig in a back and often find fresher ones that way…always in my Target ..
look at the date !!!!!!!!!!!!
takeone with the longest exp date U can…!!
I store my washed and dried lettuce in the basket in my salad spinner. It usually keeps for about 10 days. Beats the slimy brown stuff in the bags! And is a lot cheaper too!
It does seem like buying the heads of lettuce (I like romaine) is better because it’s cheaper and they last longer, but if you do want to get the prepacked kind I have found that the marketfresh greens or Dole brand in the rigid plastic package keeps a lot better than the kind in the bags.
There is one pre-packaged brand that I did always have good luck with, which was Organic Girl (iirc); sadly, they don’t carry that brand where we live now.
I buy spinach in the plastic hard containers and put a paper towel folded in half on the top of the leaves. Then I store it upside down (so the spinach is sitting on the paper towel) in my fridge. This can also help with spring mix blends but they just tend to go bad more quickly no matter what.
BTW, I am sooo with you with the store bought dressings tasting blah… I have purchased all sorts of dressings and I have never found one that is really good (and not to mention half are pretty fattening on their own).
I really want to try this one, sounds interesting!
Yes. It does sound good. I’ll have to try that. 🙂
I love a spinach salad with fat free feta cheese, orange flavored cranberries (from Trader Joe’s), and hand candied walnuts (candied by myself). Here’s the recipe for the walnuts-
Pre-heat oven to 275. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. (VERY important to do that!)
Beat one egg white until stiff.
Fold in 1/2 cup brown sugar, a dash of vanilla extract and a pinch of cinnamon.
Add 4 cups whole walnuts (or pecans)
Pour onto the prepared cookie sheet and bake until browned, about 10-15, stirring half way through.
Collin,
What kind of mustard do you use? I would never use yellow, but I don’t use it much as an ingredient & couldn’t be sure I’d have it on hand. Thanks for the recipe!
I think Dijon mustard would be the best for this dressing, however, all I had on hand when I made this was yellow mustard.
YUM! I make a balsamic vinaigrette with balsamic vinegar, mustard, and honey. so easy and goes well with field greens, cucumbers, walnuts, and red onions!.. sometimes parmesean cheese too 🙂
My recent favorite dressing is 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, 1/4 cup (or a little less) water, 1-2 Tbsp. lemon juice. Put in a jar a shake it up! I am avoiding the top 8 allergens + corn bc we think our baby has some food intolerances. I love the recipes you have been sharing! What about a recipe tab at top of blog?
Hi Kristi!
If you click on the Orange “View All Categories” button on the upper right, you can then select “Cooking with Collin” and view all of the recipes. And here’s the link to all of them so far…
https://hip2save.com/category/cooking-with-collin/
Enjoy! 😀
Thanks Collin!
I’m digging the homemade potato heads in the background…anyway, thanks for sharing the recipe! Pear dressing sounds yummy!
I really like grapefruit, bacon, and avocado over baby greens. I also have a recipe for a salad with strawberries, mandarin oranges, nuts and grilled chicken with a homemade strawberry dressing that is amazing!
Would love your strawberry dressing recipe if you don’t mind sharing? I’ve gotten in the habit of eatting more salads lately, and I love it. And so good for you! So nice to see the different colors, flavors and textures, etc. It’s almost like your body is saying, I appreciate you when you finish your meal. 🙂 Can’t wait to try all these new ones. Thanking you in advance.
I’ve never tried the dressing by itself, but the salad as a whole is amazing, and I’ve never liked fruit mixed with savory foods.
I’d give credit for this recipe, but I don’t remember where it came from. I think the Washington Post picked it up from a midwestern paper.
CITRUS and STRAWBERRY CHICKEN SALAD
1/2 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon chili powder plus additional for sprinkling on chicken
1/4 teaspoon salt
14 teaspoon pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, about 4 ounces each
Salt and pepper to taste
6 cups baby garden greens
1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1 11 oz. can Mandarin oranges, well drained
1 green onion, white and green parts, chopped
1/3 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons toasted pecan pieces
Place halved strawberries, orange juice, vegetable oil, lemon juice, sugar, 1/4 teaspoon chili powder, salt and pepper in a blender. Process until smooth. Pour into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer, stirring occasionally, about 3-4 minutes or until thickened; remove from heat. Allow to cool slightly. Measure out 1/2 cup dressing to use for salad; cover and refrigerate remaining dressing for another use.
Sprinkle chicken lightly with chili powder, salt and pepper. Heat a grill skillet or a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Spray generously with non-stick cooking spray. Cook chicken about 4-5 minutes per side until done. Set aside.
Place greens, sliced strawberries, Mandarin oranges, green onion and celery in a large bowl. Toss with 1/4 cup of the dressing mixture. Divide salad mixture equally among four dinner plates. Slice chicken and place on top of greens. Drizzle with remaining dressing. Top with pecans.
Try sunflower seeds to in the salad and dried berries.
Collin,
I love making my own salad dressing. Try using different vinegars. I use pomegranate, raspberry vinegars. Also try using honey a great sweetner. I like to use dijon mustard as well. In the summer time you can squeeze fresh strawberries through a strainer and create some awesome dressings that way as well.
I LOVE adding cilantro to salad! Unfortunately, my hubby disagrees. As for dressings, try switching out lemon juice for lime juice. Also try sesame oil with soy sauce and lemon juice (aka Ponzu in the asian aisle).
Sounds delicious! I’ll have to give it a try. I love pears:) Thanks!
I’m with you about store bought dressings! I have to buy dressing from my favorite restaurant if I plan to stir up a nice salad at home. I too love nuts and just about everything as long as the season permits. Your dressing looks great and I will try it out on my hubby Saturday!
Sounds good, but I can’t eat pears! 🙁 Maybe I can try this with a few different fruits hm…
It’s amazing how amazing your recipes sound. I would’ve never thought to make pear dressing.
My favorite salad is just mixed greens, red onion, walnuts, dried cranberries, some cheese (usually just cheddar), grape tomato, croutons. BUt I know you aren’t doing the wheat/dairy thing. I usually use poppyseed dressing but I can’t wait to try this recipe. It’ll be awesome this summer, one more way to use up all those pears on that tree out back. 🙂
I have learned I can get down a whole lot of fresh spinach with any berry but not much at all without it. 🙂
Does anyone have a good fat free honey mustard recipe? I can’t seem to find one that I like.
Collin I love how you’ve gotten into cooking . Your confidence shows and you’ve been coming up with some delicious stuff I’m anxious to try. Have to admit I do salads a lot more in late spring/summer/early fall than the rest of the year. Fruits,nuts and a fruity dressing on mixed spring greens are my faves!
Try jicama… it has a TERRIFIC crunch and is super healthy. Also, if you’re a crouton lover, make your own out of wheat bread… mmmm.. and so much healthier!
How do you make them, if you don’t mind sharing?
Collin, I’ve seen you mention stevia a few times and haven’t been able much info on it other than its an herb…? What is it and what is it good for?
Thanks and seriously loving your recipes! Love trying new things with flavors that go pow! 😀
Things you add sugar to such as coffee and tea. It’s a natural herb and super potent, so you only need a little. I have read that it can be tricky if you try to use it when baking, but there may be recipes out there that include it. https://www.stevia.com/
Stevia is a sweetener used to replace sugar. You can buy it in liquid or powder form.
Stevia is great if you want to cut down on the amount of sugar you are using, although I have not used it in baking I am thinking it would be fine. I have used it in things like iced tea, along with sugar, and things that just wanted to cut the sugar amt. down or sweeten more. Be sure and stir well, and a very little goes a long way. I prefer the powdered as mine came with a tiny little spoon, so I can better gauge and remember how much to use. Really sweetens things up nicely and diabetics can use.
I buy stevia in liquid form at my health food store. It is vanilla flavored and comes with a dropper top. It lasts for a very long time and works great to sweeten smoothies, greek yogurt and the like without using sugar. My kids never know the difference!
Some tasty treats that I add to my salads include a lot that has been mentioned so far and:
-Quinoa: it adds crunch and protein
-shelled sunflower seeds: so yummy and adds extra crunch
For salad dressings I like to mix olive oil and balsamic vinegar with one of the following depending on my mood:
-pesto: I can’t get enough of it. It’s so yummy! I usually mix it with greek salad stuff like olives, feta cheese, red onions, etc.
-dijon mustard: it adds a little kick to the salad. This really works with any toppings. A little bit goes a long way. Tonight we had it with dried cranberries, feta cheese, sliced almonds, and onion.
-almond butter: sounds crazy but it works well in a salad that you want to make extra nutty.
-barbecue sauce: this spices up my salads when I need an extra kick :).
Yum ! That sounds SO good ! I can’t stand the store-bought salad dressings, so I usually go with a little olive oil, vinegar, salt & pepper. Simple is best, in my opinion, so I can taste all the yummy veggies in the salad…but I can’t wait to try this !
Thanks !
Love the potatoes in the pic!
I, too, was distracted by the potatoes!
This dressing looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it! I also make all of my own dressings and they are SO much better than bottled! One trick I like is to put all of the dressing ingredients in a medium sized mason jar and shake like crazy!
Thanks for posting all the new, healthy recipes!
I’m going to try that dressing. Looks good. You have to try red grapes in your salads. It is really good. Also, hang on to those empty cereal bags. They are great for keep lettuce fresh and crisp.
My favorite salad is romaine or mixed greens, sliced pears, walnuts, and crumbled blue cheese. This dressing would be great on it!
I’ve been obsessed with this salad lately and have had it every day for lunch the past week:
Spinach/baby spring mix, kalamata olives, feta cheese, dried cranberries, and pecans. I usually put extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar on my salads because I am always disappointed by store-bought dressing, but I recently found this Greek vinagarette dressing at my grocery store. It is so delicious, and 1 Tbsp goes such a long way. I serve this salad alongside couscous and it’s an awesome compliment.
My favorite salad is baby spinach with bacon, hard boiled eggs, cucumber, and dates with creamy balsamic dressing. I use Ken’s Steakhouse dressing and add a little brown sugar if that bottle of dressing is a little tart- smoothest out the flavor.
The other day, my husband and I were invited to a potluck dinner party. We were asked to bring a salad. I cooked up some frozen corn in the pan with spices, until it had a tint of brown on some of the kernels. Hubby cooked up some delicious grilled chicken that was marinated for a few hours in spices. We added it all to our salad that was made up of spinach lettuce, spring mix that included cabbage, cukes, carotts, broccoli, cauliflower and red/green peppers. Added the dried cranberries, grabbed 2 different dressings and off we went. It was delicious.
Can someone tell me how to save my fresh cilantro and parsley from going bad? I think I have read somewhere ..folks puree it or something and put in ice cube trays.. any help? I waste too much money on these two ..urghhhhh..
I like the salad dressing idea.. I like red wine vinegar and as another posted..I enjoy sunflower seeds with dried cranberries in all salads.. yummy!!!! tnx
ps..all I have is one of those little tiny processcers.. nothing large..and a reg. blender..not a vitamixer.. so if you can tell me how to use those two appliances.. thnx
i googled it and came up with this
https://gardening.about.com/od/vegetablepatch/a/FreezeHerbs.htm
This is my favorite salad (Waldorf)
6 cups mixed baby greens
½ cup red seedless grapes , halved
1 granny smith apple , chopped in bite-sized pieces
½ cup celery , diced
½ cup candied walnuts
crumbled gorgonzola
½ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon garlic , minced
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup olive oil
For dressing:.
Whisk together all ingredients well. Chill until serving. Store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, shake or whisk prior to serving.
For the salad:.
Toss field greens, fruits and celery, if included, in desired amount of dressing. Place evenly divided portions on two large, chilled plates. Top with sliced, chilled chicken breast, candied walnuts, and Gorgonzola.
Read more: https://www.food.com/recipe/california-pizza-kitchen-waldorf-salad-copycat-324118#ixzz1n7k2c1eD
I’m a huge fan of using McCormicks Salad Supreme seasoning on my salad with a little bit of oil & vinegar. It has a great fresh, bold taste.
I make a vinaigrette that I mix with romaine, spinach, walnuts (or almonds), feta, dried cranberries & sliced chicken. Sometimes I toss in crumbled bacon, tomatoes, or fresh strawberries.
For the vinaigrette, its about 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced very very finely, 3/4 C EVOO, 1/4 C Rice Wine Vinegar, dash or two each S&P and 2 TBSP of Strawberry or Raspberry jam whipped in a blender.
I use Polaner Strawberry w/fiber… watch your jams/preserves since a lot have HFCS!
I think Rice Wine Vinegar gives the dressing a nice tartness vs regular vinegar.
omg that salad looks so yum. I am printing the recipe thanks.
My favorite salad is baby spinach, fresh sliced strawberries, and toasted nuts like almonds or pecans. Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette (just balsamic vinegar and olive oil, salt, pepper).
I also love Greek salad. Romaine, kalamata olives, cucumber, feta, tomatoes, onion, and oil-vinegar dressing.
Oh I forgot! The first salad includes Gorgonzola cheese. Yum.
My favorite salad. Toast slivered almonds (I use a small package), sesame seeds(4TBSPS), chow mien noodles(1/2 cup) and 5 strips of bacon. (then cut the bacon up) Cut up 3 heads of romaine lettuce and 5 green onions.
Dressing–1/2 cup of olive oil, 4 TBSP sugar, 11 tsps White Vinegar, 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Add toasted ingredients and and dressing right before you serve.
Make the dressing a day or two in advance to incorporate flavors.
** EVERY time I take this salad anywhere it’s all gone and people beg for the recipes. It’s absolutely THE best! yum! Now I want to make this! 🙂 **
I LOVE fresh spinach with mandarin orange slices, peanuts, some bacon crumbles, and shredded mozzarella, could even do some red onion. What really brings it together is the easy homemade honey mustard dressing I make. So good!! And it’s still super good without the bacon for a meatless dish.
Does anyone have a good recipe for stir fry sauce? I had been using Ken’s Lite Asian Sesame dressing for a long time, b/c it was low calorie but mainly b/c it was SO quick to make stir fry. Cut up ingrediants & squeeze on the sauce. Viola! My stores are no longer carrying this Ken’s flavor so I’m left to find a new ready made sauce or make my own. I’d be thrilled to make my own if it’s easy enough & can be stored ahead. Part of my problem with recipes I’ve seen in the past is a lot of them have things like orange juice concentrate which is just not a practical ingrediant when you’re trying to make something quick.