Old Spaghetti Factory Creamy Pesto Dressing

We went out to dinner with our friends a few months ago and the other wife really talked up the salad dressing. She stated she wished she could bottle it up and take it home. And I thought, hey, I bet I could google that. So I did. And I made it. And I think it worked. I actually put the dressing on a pasta salad and people seemed to like it. It is a little fancier than the usual ranch. It also could make a great marinade for chicken.

3/4 cup oil
1 cup mayo (uh...light mayo, check out how much oil is in it too)
3/4 c. buttermilk
2 tbsp grated romano cheese
2 tbsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt
1 clove garlic (minced) (maybe more, the garlic is really key in this recipe)
1/4 tsp paprika

Whisk together oil and mayo.
Add other ingredients.
Cover and let flavors meld overnight in the refrigerator.

Basic Poppyseed Dressing

This dressing can work on any salad. It has a sweet and tangy flavor. I used to think that making my own dressing sounded like too much work, but really if you have the basics stocked in your kitchen, you can always whip up this dressing, and it is cheaper and better than the fancy ones sold in the stores.

If you have a hand blender, they make making salad dressing a cinch. you just put all the ingredients in a cup, blend and you are done! No messy clean up! I sound like an infomercial!

1 C sugar
1/2 C apple cider vinegar
1 C salad oil
1 Tbsp poppy seeds (these are not necessary if you don't have them)
1 tsp dry mustard
1 garlic clove

You can substitute red wine vinegar for a little different flavor too.