A Cooking Post

Yesterday I made a salad dressing recipe that was great! When we had the girls' party I bought some dip from Wal-Mart that was dill flavored- it's very good, but not good for you. So yesterday I decided to try my hand at making my own for a salad. It tasted just as good.

These are all approximate measurements...measuring is not my forte.

1/4 c of mayonnaise

1/4 c buttermilk (mine was homemade from Candy's method)

1 t salt

fresh cracked pepper

1/2 t garlic powder

1 t dijon mustard

1 T dried dill weed

1 T apple cider vinegar

**I had to add a little sugar because I got it too salty

I first mixed the mayo with the seasonings, then added the vinegar and buttermilk. I was going to add sour cream too, but mine was bad- brand new from the store too!

I made it the consistency of bottled Ranch salad dressing and everyone loved it. Now, I wouldn't normally go to the trouble of making something with so many ingredients, but I just happened to have all these on hand. Dijon mustard, the vinegar and dill last a long time. We always have mayo, buttermilk, garlic powder and salt and pepper. I would have added onion powder too but I don't have any, nor do I plan to buy it. I generally just use the real onion, but I didn't feel like chopping one. I made a salad of romaine lettuce, spinach leaves, chopped carrots, grape tomatoes and pickled banana peppers. (not hot) This was quite delicious ;)

Also, I've been looking into the Once a Month Cooking thing, and while I can't imagine making all of our meals in one day, the idea is good. I decided maybe if I made up several things every week or two that would be easier. Plus, I am pretty spontaneous and might decide I wanted to cook something else.

Anyways, yesterday at the store I bought a 5lb tube of ground beef, extra ground turkey and cheese, a large package of tortillas, and 2 bags of bagels. Since I am making meals from my pantry this week, this didn't add much to my grocery bill. That's another reason I never wanted to try cooking once a month- the buying in bulk was too costly.

This morning, after a crazy hectic running all over the place morning, I came home and started. I mixed up 4lbs of beef with hamburger seasoning, salt, worcestershire sauce and garlic and made 11 hamburger patties- 4 we will eat today. Then I browned up the rest of it with onion and garlic and taco seasonings. ( I don't buy the packets, I just throw in chili powder, cumin and oregano) That is cooling in the fridge, and then I'll put it in a ziploc bag. (labeled of course) I plan to put it in another baggie with tortillas and grated cheese. A burrito kit!

Then I split 9 bagels open, lightly sprinkled them with grated cheese, topped with a thin slice of ham, and the piled on more cheese. Those are my invention for a quick breakfast- ham and cheese bagels. After they freeze I will wrap them individually in freezer paper and label them. Hopefully...

I would like to get cooked chicken and chicken stock and maybe a few meatloaves in the freezer too. Pizzas would be nice too... I'll have to save that for another day, er week. Anyways, maybe I'll get brave one day and go for cooking the whole month of meals. I do have a deep freezer just sitting in the storage room- empty...