Homemade Salad Dressing

The sisters on our Relief Society meeting committee shared these wonderful salad dressing recipes.

Vinaigrette Dressing

1/4 cup salad oil

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1 TB Dijon mustard

1 1/2 tsp oregano leaves

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

Poppy Seed Dressing

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup cider vinegar

1 cup salad oil

1 TB dried chopped onions

1 tsp poppy seeds

1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Whirl sugar, mustard, salt, and vinegar in a blender. With blender running, slowly pour in oil. Add chopped onions and whirl only a couple of times. Stir in poppy seeds and sesame seeds. Makes 1 1/2 cups dressing. This dressing is ideal to serve over all kinds of fruit.

Sweet French Dressing

1 cup oil

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup catsup

1/3 cup sugar

3/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp salt

1 TB dried chopped onions

Put all ingredients EXCEPT oil in a blender and mix well. Turn blender to high speed and pour oil very slowly into mixture, making sure it mixes well. Dressing will thicken as oil is added.

Farmhouse Chicken Pot Pie + Never Fail Pie Crust

This recipe was served at our Christmas social in December. Thanks to Dana Dwyer for the recipes. And thanks to everyone else who made the delicious dinner!

Farmhouse Chicken Pot Pie

2 cups chicken or 2 cans of chicken

1 TB chicken bouillon

2/3 cup flour

6 cups water

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/4 cup onion

1/2 tsp pepper

Pie crust pastry (recipe follows)

Line casserole dish with pie pastry. Cut chicken into small pieces. Combine chicken, bouillon, flour, carrots, peas, onions, and pepper in a large saucepan. Add water. Cook over medium heat until it forms a smooth, thick gravy. (If the filling seems too soupy, thicken it with 1/3 cup cornstarch mixed with enough water to liquefy it. Pour cornstarch mixture into the filling and stir until thick.) Pour filling into pie crust lined casserole dish. Cover with remaining pie crust pastry. Bake at 400 degrees F for 35-45 minutes until browned.

**Variation** Instead of using pie crust, pour chicken combination into casserole dish and top with biscuits.

Never Fail Pie Crust

3 cups flour

1 tsp vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups lard or shortening (Crisco)

1 egg

5 TB cold water

Mix flour and shortening together. Add salt. Beat egg, vinegar, and water together. Add to flour and mix well. Section into 4 parts - roll between sheets of waxed paper or on a lightly floured surface.

Recipe makes 4 pie crusts or 2 double crust pie crusts. For a casserole dish, divide the dough in half and use part for the bottom crust and the other half for the top. **Note from Dana: I usually roll out what I can, place it in the bottom of the casserole dish, and then press it into the casserole dish and up the sides. I then roll out the top as best I can between 2 sheets of waxed paper. Peel off one side of the waxed paper, place the crust on the top of the casserole dish, and then peel off the remaining piece of waxed paper.

Homemade Granola

Homemade granola is easy, delicious, and inexpensive (especially compared to store bought alternatives). Recipe courtesy of Lori D'Alba, who adapted it from Feast by Nigella Lawson.

5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 cups sliced almonds or chopped pecans

2 cups shredded coconut

1 cup oat bran

1 cup toasted wheat germ

1 cup whole wheat flour (freshly ground)

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2/3 cup untoasted sesame seeds

1/2 cup golden flax seeds

1/3 cup sunflower seeds

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

1. Put rolled oats in a large baking pan and bake for 20 minutes while assembling the other ingredients.

2. In a large bowl, combine nuts, coconut, oat bran, wheat germ, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, sesame seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, and kosher salt.

3. In a small saucepan, heat the applesauce, syrup, honey, and vegetable oil until warm.

4. Add oats to other dry ingredients and mix well.

5. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until thoroughly dispersed. The mixture should clump a bit. It if seems too dry, add warm water 1 tablespoon at a time (shouldn't need to add more than 2 tablespoons), and mix well.

6. Spray 2 large baking sheets with cooking spray, then divide mixture evenly between the two pans. Spread out the mixture to an even layer.

7. Bake the granola for 45-60 minutes, stirring and rotating pans every 10 minutes, until the granola is a deep golden brown.

8. Remove from oven and cool in pans. The granola gets crunchy as it cools. Store granola in a large, airtight container. Add raisins, dates, dried apples, dried cherries, or dried cranberries when you serve the granola. Enjoy!

Egg Rice Soup

This recipe was served at an evening Relief Society meeting and utilizes many food storage items. Recipe courtesy of Dana Dwyer.

3 cups chicken broth

1 can evaporated milk

2 egg yolks

1 cup cooked white or brown rice

1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

Heat the chicken broth in a saucepan. Beat egg yolks and milk together. Pour 1/2 cup broth into the egg mixture, then pour the mixture in a thin stream back into the remaining broth in the saucepan. Heat gently until soup thickens slightly, stirring frequently. Add rice and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm with pretzel sticks or whole wheat croutons.