Something Beautiful: What I'm Cooking Wednesday: Olive Garden Salad

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

What I'm Cooking Wednesday: Olive Garden Salad

Luke has been working a side job most weeknights lately, so I've been spending a lot of time home alone in the evenings. I've been eating a lot of salads and sandwiches for dinner on the nights he's not home, because what's the sense in making a big dinner for one?

One day last week I was really hungry for an Olive Garden salad. I don't know what it is about their salads, but they are just delicious! Usually the salad is my favorite part of the meal; I could go just for that and their breadsticks. So I threw together all the things I had on hand that I knew were in an Olive Garden salad, and then I found a dressing recipe online. It was so easy, but delicious!

Did it taste just like an Olive Garden salad? Not quite...the dressing recipe says that sugar is optional, but I think I added a little too much. It was just a bit too sweet. But it was still delicious!

Here is what I added to my salad

iceburg lettuce
tomato chunks
onion (would have rather done red onion, but only have Vidalias)
croutons
black olives
Parmesan cheese
Homemade Olive Garden salad dressing

Below is the recipe for the salad dressing, found HERE

Ingredients:
1/2 c mayonnaise
1/3 c white vinegar
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp corn syrup
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp ramano cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp parsley flakes
1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients in a blender until well mixed.
2. Add a little sugar if the dressing is too tart for your taste...but don't add too much, like I did!
3. chill in a refrigerator for at least a half hour before serving

This is such an easy salad made up of things that I have in my kitchen pretty much all the time. It will go great with an Italian dish. Throw some spaghetti together and make this salad on a night when you can't figure out what to make for dinner...it's as simple as it gets!