Don't Throw Away That Nearly-Empty Mustard Container: Make Salad Dressing Instead

We love any chance we get to upcycle and reuse random things in the kitchen. For example, using a nearly empty mayo jar is the perfect vessel for a creamy pasta salad, and an almost used-up peanut butter jar can be used to make a sauce for noodles. And the tricks don't stop with just those two condiments. In fact, you can probably dream up tons of creative ways to get every last bit out of your favorite jars and cans. Today, we're diving deeper into that pesky mustard container and the delicious salad dressings and vinaigrettes you can make with it.

To try it for yourself, all you have to do is add your ingredients directly into the mustard jar and shake it up. For vinaigrettes, just add extra virgin olive oil and your favorite vinegar along with your choice of herbs and spices. Certain other types of salad dressings might be creamier than vinaigrettes, so the addition of thicker ingredients like mayo or yogurt should do the trick. You can even thicken things up with cooked egg yolk.

Shake everything up, and then give it a little taste test before adding more. To taste test like a pro, dab a bit on a piece of lettuce or another ingredient from your salad (like a piece of cold pasta). This will help you determine what your overall dish will taste like.

Whether you're using this mustardy salad dressing for a classic summer salad or you're using it on a pasta salad, adding it at the right time is important. Generally speaking, it's best to add any dressing right before serving. This helps reduce any soggy pieces of lettuce or bloated macaroni if you were to let them sit in the refrigerator for a few hours. Want to make your dressing in advance? It should last three to four days in the fridge.

Now, the order in which you build your salad is a-whole-nother story. While pasta salad has a decent amount of bulk, so mixing it helps disperse the dressing well, sometimes it can be harder for the dressing to get to the bottom of a classic greens-based salad. To combat this, you can add a few tablespoons of dressing to the empty salad bowl first. Then add the rest of the ingredients, top with the dressing, and toss as usual. By adding some dressing to the bottom of the bowl, you'll ensure that even your final bites are just as delicious as the first.