The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me. ~ Psalm 16:6 nasb

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Creamy Avocado Dressing ~ Healthy AND Yummy!!


I've been making my own salad dressings for years, and I love them all.  I usually make one kind--perhaps two if my hubby asks for his favorite (Thousand Island, which I've also come to love)--and use it for a week or two until it's gone before making a different kind.  But I may very well get stuck on this recipe.  I've already made it three times in a row, and my guys keep asking for more!

The inspiration behind this dressing comes from Pinterest (where else??).  A few avocado-based dressings came across my Pinterest feed, so I'd look at them, make sure the link worked, then pin the recipe to try later.  Then, a similar recipe came across my Facebook feed.  I figured I'd try that, and so I did.


It was a great starting point, I think, for me to create my own version.  You can see above that olive oil was involved in my first attempt.  The original recipe called for 1/4 cup, and I figured I'd cut it down to two tablespoons (half).  The recipe also called for one full teaspoon of hot sauce.  Those two ingredients were sticking points for me, so I tweaked and came up with my own version, even healthier, too!  Keep reading...


See the mixing jar above?  I added a whole clove of garlic (from my garden, stored in my freezer) and a one-tablespoon lemon cube (from lemons a friend gave me, stored as juiced cubes in my freezer).  I added those in, and my handy-dandy Braun stick blender blended everything right up, as smooth and creamy as could be.

After making the original recipe with less oil, I was not happy that I could actually taste it; it was a really strong taste.  That usually doesn't happen with me, ever, with olive oil, so since it was so strong, I ended up leaving it completely out--no harm done at all!  (I didn't take pictures of the ingredients without the oil, so you'll see the evoo in my images.)

Next, although I love spicy, one full teaspoon of the Tabasco was too much.  At first, the taste seemed perfect.  But as I ate my salad, the Tabasco "zing" built and built until it was almost too spicy.  So I cut that back, from one full teaspoon to one-quarter teaspoon.

After making those two adjustments, the only other thing I did was to add a few tablespoons of milk--real, non-rBGH whole milk.  I use the good stuff!  It's only a few tablespoons, it adds a little fat back into the recipe, and it helped to thin it.

My new recipe--above and below.  No oil!


Notice I store this dressing in a glass jar (below), not a bottle.  There's a reason I'm doing that!  It's still thick, and trust me--you could almost just take a spoon (or a bag of tortilla chips) and use this dressing as a dip.  Yes, it's that good.


Christine's Creamy Avocado Dressing

1 avocado (medium-large)
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used a nice organic plain yogurt)
2 tablespoons milk (more or less depending on how thick/thin you want your dressing)
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice (both are equally yummy)
1 garlic clove
3/4 teaspoon salt (real sea salt)
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (Tabasco for me; it's what was in my fridge)

Cut the avocado in half, pit it, and scoop the meat out into a jar.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  I used a stick blender to blend everything together.  (If hand-whisking, mince your garlic first.)  Grab a spoon and a bag of chips.  Spoon onto your salad, mix into a bean salad, top your potato, spread it on your sandwich, add to your taco...  I could go on.  But I think you get it.

Please store this dressing in your fridge!  The last time I made this, it lasted two weeks, mostly because I was out of town for a few days and there was some left when I got home (woot!)  The avocado may discolor a bit, and/or you may see a little liquid when you pull it out of the fridge.  The discoloration is normal, and as for the liquid--just stir it back up and continue to enjoy it on whatever you're making.


Calorie-wise, two tablespoons of this dressing equals only about 35 calories.  So make it and enjoy it guilt-free!!

Sauteed Brussels sprouts with tomatoes, topped with avocado dressing and fresh Romano cheese.


Back to life,
Christine

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