Fattoush Salad Dressing Mix

In recent months I became addicted to the miracle that is fattoush salad. Fattoush is a delicious Lebanese salad topped with crunchy pita chips and the chicken that goes into a Shawarma. It's so sour and crunchy and healthy to boot! But it's expensive. At $12 a pop the Lebanese take out place on the corner was seeing WAY too much of my money. Eventually I sweet talked a couple of the workers into the secrets of their dressing and was able to nail a replica in the Mix It Up Kitchen.

Fattoush salad dressing mix

2 teaspoons ground sumac
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon mint
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper



Sumac is a dark red powder that gives it the sour taste and is absolutely essential. It can be found at any middle eastern grocery store, and recently Bulk Barn started carrying it as well.

What else you'll need

1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil



Combine mix with juice and oil and shake well. You'll need to chill it in the fridge for a while because at first all of the dry ingredients will float to the top until they are well soaked.

A good fattoush salad is made with romaine, cucumbers, tomato, onions, peppers and various other vegetables. Toss the salad in the dressing and mix it well.



This salad is famous for the crunchy pita chips inside it and the perfect way to use up stale pitas. Pita bread seems to go stale about an hour after you buy it. Simply dry it out in the oven and then crumble and toss with olive oil.



The salad makes a great side dish, but it's even better as a complete meal topped with grilled chicken marinaded in my shawarma mix or my regular grilled chicken marinade.



This dressing was an exact match to the take out place on the corner! Which means I'm going to be saving a lot of money in the future.

Zesty Italian Salad Dressing Mix

This year we ordered 20 weeks of farm share produce from a local farm and we've been getting some amazing salad greens from them. I'm burning through bottles of salad dressing faster than I can buy it so I've been making a lot of my own. My old recipe for Italian salad dressing tasted 'too herby' and strong for me so I came up with one that tastes more like the store bought kind.

Zesty Italian Salad Dressing Mix

1 teaspoon dried garlic flakes
1 teaspoon dried red bell pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried onion flakes
1/4 teaspoon parsley
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon nutritional yeast

Xanthan gum is a thickener used in commercial dressings and other foods. You can omit it if you don't have any. Nutritional yeast enhances flavor but can also be omitted.

What else you'll need

1 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup vinegar

You can also add a teaspoon or two of lemon juice if you want the dressing to be more sour.

This salad dressing has the same garlicky tang as the store bought dressing without too much overpowering herb taste, but can be made at home using healthier oils for much less money. It was delicious on our nice fresh salads.

Sweet onion teriyaki sub sauce mix

I really love Subway but I find it's way too expensive (especially for the specialty subs!) and also the processed meat doesn't agree very well with me. I was in there yesterday trying to think of why it tastes so good when all it is really is a bunch of sandwiches. It didn't take me very long to realize it's the SUB SAUCES!

Today I had a bunch of cooked chicken thighs left over from last night so I decided I was going to make my own...

Sweet onion teriyaki sub sauce mix

1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder



What else you'll need

3/4 cup oil
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce (more if you like it stronger. I don't like a strong 'soy' taste).

Combine mix with wet ingredients in a bottle or jar and shake until well mixed.



Use as a sauce on cooked chicken or lunch meat sandwiches, or even as a salad dressing. I made a nice chicken sub with a shredded leftover chicken thigh and some mixed greens. It was delicious, healthier and MUCH cheaper!

Poppy seed dressing mix

I've been on a fruit topped salad kick lately (you know, sliced strawberries, mandarin pieces, ect). I wanted a sweet dressing to compliment them, so I made this:

Poppy seed dressing mix (single use- makes about one cup of dressing)

1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons corn starch
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder



What else you'll need

3/4 cup oil
1/4 cup vinegar

Combine mix with wet ingredients and mix well. I put mine in an empty BBQ sauce bottle that I use for homemade salad dressings and shook it hard.



It was delicious on mixed greens with strawberries. I also like to use it on salads with mandarin slices, avocado slices, baby spinach, sliced almonds or candied nuts.

BBQ sauce mix

My husband is OBSESSED with BBQ sauce. He practically drinks it. He puts it on almost everything and it's starting to get expensive! I've been working on a homemade version for months now and this one is his favorite:

BBQ sauce mix (single use)

1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne



What else you'll need

1 can tomato paste
1 cup water
1/3 cup of vinegar
(up to 1 tablespoon each of lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce are optional but I found they didn't make a lot of difference)

Combine mix with wet ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer on low until sauce thickens a little. This can take a while.



I put mine in an empty BBQ sauce bottle but I often just put it in the covered bowl in the fridge because he uses so much so fast.



He puts it on everything but I only use it on chicken.

Caesar salad dressing mix

Everyone seems to love Caesar salad, but I never get to eat it because of my egg intolerance. But lately I've been making all sorts of things using Greek yogurt in the place of mayonnaise, so I thought it might work for this too.

Caesar salad dressing mix (single use)

1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon parsley
1/4 teaspoons dried garlic flakes
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder



What else you'll need

1 cup mayonnaise (or in my case Greek yogurt!)
1 tablespoons oil
1.5 tablespoons lemon juice

You can also add a tablespoon of anchovy paste, but who does that really? Shudder.

Combine mix with wet ingredients and stir well. If it's too thick you can add a tiny bit of water.



My husband said it tasted just like 'real' Caesar salad, despite using Greek yogurt, so if you use mayo if will definitely be authentic tasting. I made my crouton mix as well to I could top it with something crunchy.



It was delicious on salad. Later on I poured it on some sole fillets and baked them in the oven and it was the most delicious fish ever.

French Salad Dressing Mix

I've been craving crisp delicious salads lately so the other day I bought a whole fridge load of fresh vegggies, but when I got home I realized we were completely out of dressing! So...

French Salad Dressing Mix (single use- makes about 1 cup (half a bottle))

3 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
pinch cayenne

Big batch (makes 4 half bottles)

3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
4 teaspoons mustard powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne

What else you'll need

3/4 cup oil
1/4 cup vinegar

(You can adjust levels of oil/vinegar depending on how much or little fat you want in your dressing. I like full fat.)

Combine 1/4 cup of mix with oil and vinegar and shake. I put mine in an old bbq sauce bottle that I use for making salad dressings. It's 500 ml (2 cups) which is the same size as most bottles of salad dressing.

We loved it! It was perfect on a romaine salad topped with tomato, strawberries and avocado.

Tartar Sauce Mix

One of the many reasons I mix it up is because a pet peeve of mine is an overcrowding of condiment bottles in my fridge door. It bothers me for several reasons- you can't find the things you actually want, you can't fit the things you need and most of all you end up throwing out more than half of it.

My daughter and I are intolerant to eggs, so we don't eat any egg based sauces or condiments, but my husband LOVES them. Whenever I make fish and chips, he wants tartar sauce. But how often do we really eat fish and chips? Not often enough for one person to eat a whole bottle of the sauce before it goes bad.

I find it's much easier to keep a jar of plain mayonnaise in the fridge, and add my seasoning mixes to it to make a small portion of whatever condiment I need. So this week..

Tartar Sauce Mix (single use)

1 1/2 teaspoons dried chives
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

What else you'll need

1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chopped pickles

Combine mix with mayo and pickles and stir well. If you can chill in the fridge for a while before using to let the flavors mix, but this isn't necessary.

I served it in a little dipping bowl with our fish and chips. He loved it almost as much as I loved that when the meal was over, there wasn't an extra bottle cluttering up my fridge.

Lemon Garlic Aioli Sauce Mix

My husband loves dipping things in mayonnaise, so I knew this sauce would be perfect to serve to him with our crab cakes last week.

Lemon Garlic Aioli Mix (single use)

3/4 teaspoon garlic flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried lemon peel
pinch salt
pinch pepper

What else you'll need

1/4 cup mayonnaise

Combine mix with mayo and stir well.

Let it sit in the fridge for a while for the flavor to infuse, then serve as a dipping sauce for seafood (or whatever you wish). I didn't try it because I can't eat eggs, but my husband said it was amazing. He used the leftovers to dip his french fries in the next day.

Garlic crouton mix

Lately I've been craving the 'all you can eat salad' from Eastside Mario's/Olive Garden/ect. The only problem is I don't feel like spending a ton of money on a meal or a take out salad. I was trying to think what was so delicious about THAT salad when it was just a few basic ingredients that we already have at home. Then it hit me... CROUTONS!!!!

Garlic Crouton Mix (single use)

1 teaspoon parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Yes, it really is that simple. 3 ingredients to season.

What else you'll need

4 slices of bread
1/4 cup butter

Slice bread into 1 inch cubes and place in a large bowl with a lid.

Melt the butter and stir in the mix. Pour onto the bread cubes, then put the lid on the bowl to shake it around until cubes are nicely coated.

Spread cubes evenly on a cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees until golden brown, flipping once.

These were amazing! They satisfied the urge for expensive salad and then some. Fresh, homemade croutons are in a complete league of their own. My husband begged for salad. My daughter called them 'toast cookies'. I had to make another batch because they went so quickly. I can't believe how expensive those crappy ones at the grocery store are in comparison.

I am hooked.