Homemade Balsamic Salad Dressing

Right before I started my job working overnights (at Home Depot as a Merchandising Associate, for those who don't know yet), I knew I was going to have to make some preparations to make our daily routines a little bit faster and easier so that we would have time to spend time together between when Tyler got home from work and when I leave.   We really are doing our best to keep from spending all that time cooking and cleaning up.  I think we might own one bottle of store bought dressing that hardly ever gets used, but mostly we've gotten used to making fresh dressing each time we have salad.  

Normally I would just throw the ingredients together right before we eat or before I shipped it off in Tyler's lunch, but I knew that was an extremely unpractical step for us now.  Since all the ingredients can be kept in the refrigerator, I decided to make some to last us a while.  It is nice that we'll still be able to eat homemade dressings but not have to put out the effort to make it every time.

I adapted this recipe from a lemon garlic dressing that I used a lot in the summer (I'll be posting that later in the spring).  I knew Tyler really liked balsamic, so this dressing is more for him and not for me.  I will eat it, but it isn't my personal preference.  

For this dressing, I use Balsamic Vinegar, Olive Oil, Montreal Steak Seasoning, Mustard, and Lemon Juice.

The measurements really depend on the jar you're using.  I have never measured this out and usually do it by parts in my head.  If your container is larger and you want to fill the entire thing, just fill it about 1/4 of the way with Balsamic Vinegar.  In my container this is about 1/4 a cup.  I'm using an old Hormel bacon bits jar - we love the bacon bits and the jars work perfectly for this.  

 Add the Montreal Seasoning.  I used about 1 Tablespoon, but its really to taste.  Honestly everything in this type of recipe is to taste.

Then a little bit of mustard.  This is about 1/2 teaspoon.  Stir it and the seasoning into the balsamic vinegar.

Then fill with about 1/2 cup of Olive Oil.

I forgot to photograph this step, but lastly add about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.  To me it just seems to help blend the balsamic flavor into the olive oil.

Keep it in the refrigerator and just give it a good shake when you're ready to use it!  It will continually separate, so you'll just have to shake it right before you add it to your salad!

Since going homemade on salad dressings we haven't really wanted to go back.  I like that it isn't really thick and gooey like the store bought dressings, which sometimes grosses me out.   Have you heard of the free cooking app called PepperPlate?  I use it all the time to store my recipes, plan our meals, and I LOVE the shopping list.  I took a screenshot of this recipe on my PepperPlate for the ease of your saving/viewing/printing/whatevering pleasure!

Do you prefer the store bought dressings or homemade?  And have you tried PepperPlate?  It is seriously one of my favorite apps (besides Instagram) because it actually helps me be more organized in my daily life!