Bringing a little "Italian" to our 'Break-the-Fast Meal'.

Image courtesy of Southern Living Yankee

It was the monthly "Break-the-Fast" meal in our Young Single Adult Ward/Congregation (YSA) this past Sunday.  For those who may be unfamiliar with this event, it is essentially a big "Pot Luck" or "Covered Dish" meal.  After our Sunday Meetings, each apartment is often assigned to bring a dish (enough to feed their apartment).  A prayer is offered to end the Fast from the last 24 hours and the meal begins.

Again, if you are familiar with our blog at all, I have been posting foods and recipes that I take to these meals for several reasons.  Number one, these YSA's are usually college students just trying to get from one semester to the other financially.  Secondly, I know these folks usually depend upon fast and convenient foods.  Thirdly, I like to bring healthy dishes...and most of them (because I know these folks, particularly the Young Men),.....are hungry!  Finally, I often make most of these foods from my Food Storage, which is convenient and inexpensive for me.

The theme of this week was "Italian".  Lots of pastas were brought, and I was asked to bring a sauce.  I may talk about this sauce later, however for this post, I am going to talk about the Salad I took, and in particular the dressing the the salad.  This is a copy cat recipe for the "Olive Garden Salad Dressing".  I love it because it uses Food storage staples.  

One of the main ingredients if Olive Oil.  I am showing you the type of Olive Oil that I store.  It is in a can, and reportedly can last up to 20 years unopened.  It is virgin Olive Oil, and has a great flavor.  I purchase mine from Alpine Food Storage.  

I decided to use my Magic Bullet for this purpose.  Not only does it mix the dressing quickly, it has a screw on cap for easy transport from my house to the "Break-the-Fast" meal.  I put in the Mayo, the Olive Oil, and an ingredient that was a surprise to me.....Corn Syrup.

This recipe calls for both Parmesan and Romano cheese.  I couldn't locate Romano cheese individually. However, Kraft had a combination of both, so I purchased it and put the cheeses in the container.

Put in the spices and Lemon juice.

I made a double batch, and it fit fine in the container.  I mixed it up and took it to the meal.

I struggle getting pictures of the final product during these meals because....quite frankly.....the foods do not last long once they go on the table. 

Review:  Here are my thoughts on this recipe.

• With the exception of the Cheeses, I had everything in my pantry to make this.  The cheese could be easily stored and frozen.  The container was just over $6.00. I figure that I used about $3.00 worth to make this double batch.  So, the out-of-pocket expense to feed 20+ YSA's...about $3.00 (plus the cost of the produce...which was minimal).  I had the rest in my storage.  Using your Food Storage Staples saves you money!
• The Flavor was reminiscent of the Olive Garden Salad, no complaints there.
• I also used the recipe for the Olive Garden Salad Mix, also from the CopyKat site.  The only challenge in gathering these ingredients were the peppers.
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I will definitely be using this recipe in upcoming family gatherings.  It was wonderful.

Here is the recipe:

Olive Garden Salad Dressing:  (CopyKat Recipes)

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Mayonnaise
• 1/3/ Cup white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil (I used olive oil and it tasted great)
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese
• 2 tablespoons Romano Cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt, or one clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• Sugar (optional)

Instructions:
Place all ingredients in a blender until well mixed.  If this is a little too tart for your own personal taste, add a little extra sugar.  YOu can enjoy your Olive Garden Salad Dressing for about 10 days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  Another great use for the Olive Garden Sala Dressing is a marinade for vegetables or even meats that you might like to grill.  So you can see the Olive Garden Salad Dressing can be used more than one way.  

Give it a try!