food prep: clean ranch dressing

Goooooooooood Monday morning to you beautiful faces. We just got back from VA visiting family, and had a great time! While I was gone, I had a few people ask me for my homemade ranch recipe. I wouldn't say I have perfected it just yet, but it is pretty darn good.

So without further ado, here is my ranch recipe.

If my husband had to choose one thing to take with him on a desert island....it would probably be ranch. He is a ranch FANATIC. Ranch with salads, ranch with breadsticks, ranch with BBQ chicken, and even with pizza.

Being the typical Americans we are, we buy bought Hidden Valley Ranch. It's the original, the best, the bomb-diggity of the ranch world. Kraft tries to keep up, but nothing beats a bottle of Hidden Valley.

However, once you flip over that beautiful bottle of buttermilk goodness, you will see why I begin to lose my appetite.

MSG, modified food starch, "natural flavors", and artificial flavors. YUMMY.

There are cleaner versions out there, organic even. But they are often more expensive and I already have all the ingredients to make my own.

For this "clean ranch" recipe, you will need:

*1 cup of mayo

*2/3 cup buttermilk

*1/4 teaspoon white vinegar

*1 teaspoon parsley

*1/8 teaspoon dill weed

*1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

*1/4 teaspoon onion powder

*1 1/2 teaspoon dried chives

*1/8 teaspoon black pepper

*1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt

*1/8 teaspoon dry or ground mustard

I typically do NOT have buttermilk on hand, so I just add a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to 2/3 cup of milk and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Now, forgive me as I do not have any cool pictures just yet, but as I make more ranch I will add them!

First you will want to whisk together the mayo and buttermilk. Then add in all spices along with the vinegar, and continue to stir. I find that it works best to prepare this ranch ahead of time to allow the flavors to blend together. So maybe make this recipe as soon as you get home from work, and then by the time dinner rolls around it will be perfect. 

The mayo we currently have is not "clean". I recently purchased a new cookbook, "Nom Nom Paleo", which includes a mayo recipe that I will be trying when we run out of Hellman's. I will keep you updated!

Enjoy!

xoxo

Megan

*******recipe adapted from ourbestbites.com