I'm going to teach you the most amazing trick ever, to keep you from wasting even one drop of delicious Dijon mustard.
But first, let's pick a mustard.
I must say, I find that Trader Joe's Dijon mustard is by far the best Dijon mustard by taste and value. At $1.99 a jar, I challenge you to find a better one. It's spicy, creamy, and adds zing to vinaigrettes, casseroles, pimiento cheese, deviled eggs, quiche, and a ton of other stuff. But the end of the jar of anything is always a pain to use.
A knife or spreader never quite gets the last little bit, and while you can use your finger, that's not something I want the kids seeing me do. (As an aside, are my kids the only ones who will put the almost empty jar back in the fridge and open a new jar?)
If it's not clear by now, I hate to waste even a drop of my favorite condiment.
Trick: We make our favorite salad dressing right in the jar.
I used to use that supermarket vinaigrette that comes with two seasoning packets and a fancy cruet -- add vinegar, water, and oil. One day, it dawned on me -- I didn't have to buy the seasoning. A few shakes of Italian seasoning and salt did the trick.
I also liked to add a spoonful of Dijon mustard, because I saw French people do it and they know things.
On vacation and without my usual cruet, I had another lightbulb moment: the almost empty mustard jar makes a perfect container for dressing.
Can you see where this is going?
Recipe: The Easiest 4-Ingredient Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette
Actually, this Dijon vinaigrette uses five ingredients, but the water doesn't really count. You don't have to use Trader Joe's brand mustard, but as you can see above, the way the label lines up makes it easy to do without measuring cups and spoons! So fun!
Besides, I hate wasting food, and the idea of using up every last bit of mustard for a simple, spicy vinaigrette makes me happy.
One almost empty jar of Trader Joe's Dijon mustard
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons water
a few shakes of seasoning salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
How To:
1. Use up almost a whole jar of mustard. (This obviously happens long before you start making the vinaigrette.)
2. Add balsamic vinegar, water, and seasoning salt to the jar of remaining mustard.
3. Shake vigorously until the remaining mustard is blended into the other ingredients.
4. Add olive oil, then shake gently to mix.
Save this Dijon vinaigrette for a simple salad, any day of the week.
You can keep this dressing in the fridge and add a little to a simple green salad whenever you need some extra vegetables on your plate.
Oh, and it should last. Because I've learned that French people don't just know mustard, they also know exactly how to dress a salad – very, very lightly.
Welcome to Anne Wolfe-Postic, our newest Cool Mom Eats contributor!
