Italian Walnut Salad

 

I need to tell you about this salad.  It doesn’t really have a name, I just made it up for this post. In fact, the salad was my mother’s creation on a whim.  She’s good at salads like that.  I LOVE a salad, but I’m extremely picky about the dressings.  I can tell you every restaurant in a 10 mile radius that has the “right” kind of ranch.  I’ve tried so many recipes but have never found one I like.  Anyway, I’m digressing from THIS dressing and salad.

We had lasagna for Lexi’s party on Wednesday, so Mom put together this oil and vinegar dressing she had served a few weeks ago and took note of the proportions.

Italian Dressing

1/3 cup of oil (I used olive)
1/3 cup of vinegar
1/3 cup of sugar
1 tblsp of Pampered Chef’s Italian Seasoning Mix

Now, there may be a right way to make this dressing but here’s what I did.

1. Pour the vinegar, seasoning and sugar in a jar
2. Shake.
3. Add the oil.
4. Shake.

Voila!  I poured about 1 tablespoon on my salad right away.

You can also use a blender. In that case, you can pour the oil in as the other is mixing with the blender on.  It’s best to let it sit to get all the flavors, but mine tasted just fine right away.  You can store in the fridge for 2 weeks.  (According to a quick google search.  Please don’t sue me if you get a tummy ache).

Anyone that likes their dressing a little sweet will LOVE it.

But the dressing is not all that makes this salad wonderful.

The other secret is to take just a few pieces of Candied Walnuts, chop them up and spread on the salad.  YUM. MO.  Now, if you not only have a sweet tooth but ALSO like a lot of crunch to your salad, this is PERFECT.

The rest of the salad can come and go.  Cheese, mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, whatever you please.  But don’t skip the dressing or walnuts!  I’m sure Mom would jump in here and mention that she likes cut up pieces of apple and sometimes raisins in it too.

Enjoy!