Salad Dressing 101

There are some items in life I feel the need to know how to make sans recipe. Among others, these include spaghetti sauce, stir fries, fajitas, and fritattas. You know, the stuff you can make even if you don't really feel like cooking. However, in my opinion, the most important recipe to store in your memory files is salad dressing. It is so easy, and after investigating store bought ingredient labels, I opt not to purchase bottled dressings anymore (except for when I get the urge for ranch dressing and pepperoni pizza, which is maybe once a year). Bottled dressings come with lovely ingredients such as: disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate, and lots of sugar. Organic lines such as Annies are a good option for bottled dressings, you can understand all the ingredients on their label, although they do add xanthum gum, which I decline to put in my own dressing.
Here's a quick rundown of basic salad dressing making:
For any salad dressing, you need acid (any type of vinegar or citrus juice), oil (olive or other), salt, pepper, Dijon mustard, and sweetener (honey, sugar, fake sugar, whatever you prefer). Those are the 'must have' ingredients, and you can jazz it up with additions like minced red onions, fresh chopped herbs, or crumbled cheese. The key to making it is using a jar with a lid. I use an old mustard jar (as does my mom), you just add the ingredients and shake. So here is a super simple salad dressing 'how-to' guide:

Your Typical Everyday Salad Dressing For Two

2 Tablespoons vinegar or citrus juice (or a mixture of both)
2 teaspoons oil
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons sweetener
salt and pepper

Add vinegar to jar (tangerine juice here)
I also added a little red wine vinegar
Add sweetener and oil
Season with salt and pepper
I also added the Dijon mustard, but forget to take a picture (but I promise I added it!)
Shake Shake Shake!
Dressing ready for my salad

Almost as easy as opening up the fridge and taking out a bottle of dressing, the only difference is you can read and spell all my ingredients! Once you make it a few times you can eyeball the measurements and adjust to your liking. I store leftover dressing right in the jar in the fridge for the next night. Also, this is a healthy dressing, Scott says a classic dressing uses 1 tablespoon vinegar to 2 1/2 tablespoons oil...my recipe cuts down the oil a bit so we can all stay nice and trim.
Enjoy =)