Growing up I was one of the weird kids who preferred salads with fresh veggies to burgers, hot dogs, and pizza. And my absolute favorite dressing was the restaurant ranch dressing. Well, it wasn't called "ranch" it was called "house dressing." Then my mom discovered Hidden Valley Ranch and all its wonderful glory. You could have the "house" dressing at home using their dry mix, mayo, and milk (or buttermilk). And they even sold starter kits per se that included this cool shaker to mix it. If you haven't had ranch made this way you have been missing out.
Well, now that the bottled version of the dressing has taken the glory spot, the dry packets have been pushed aside...and had a huge increase in price. Now ranch dry mix is making a comeback and is not just for dressings or dips. And while tightening the money belt, those little packets are awfully expensive.
My previous post told you all about Hubs and I making a switch to making everything from scratch rather than buying readymade. Well a Pinterest recipe for homemade ranch dressing mix is what started our switch. However, I didn't care for a specific ingredient this one site called for...crackers in ranch mix??? No thank you. So I wondered on over to Google and searched for a recipe for the mix. I still came across a bunch that called for crackers. Then pay dirt! This one called for powdered buttermilk.
(find it here: http://www.food.com/recipe/ranch-dressing-and-seasoning-mix-47249)
1/2 C powdered buttermilk
1 T parsley
1 tsp dill weed
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried onion flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground pepper
**1 tsp celery salt*** not in the original recipe but all the other ones I saw called for it so I decided to add it.
Mix and store in air tight container in cool dry place. (My powdered buttermilk says you have to refrigerate the open container but no one mentioned this on any of the sites I saw... But I put my open powdered buttermilk in the fridge and the mix is in my spice cabinet.
Use 1 rounded tablespoon in any recipe calling for ranch packet
For dressing: 1 rounded tablespoon, 1 C mayo, 1 C milk. I think next time I will do 1 1/4 C mayo and 3/4 C milk and two tablespoons mix. We like ours a little thicker and with more punch of flavor.
For ranch dip: 1 tablespoon to 16 oz of sour cream; again we use extra mix for extra flavor.
When they say it tastes just like the store bought mix, they ain't lyin'!! It is the best ranch dressing I have ever tasted. Hubs and I even used it for another Pinterest recipe: Slow Cooker Buffalo Ranch Chicken. Check it out here: http://www.emilybites.com/2012/07/slow-cooker-buffalo-chicken.html
Most of the recipes said a tablespoon equals one packet but we like the extra punch of flavor and use two tablespoons.
And don't worry...if you are a calorie counter you can substitute powdered milk for the buttermilk and yogurt for the mayo.
If you do use the powdered milk instead, run it through the food processor since the milk granules are bigger than the other ingredients.
And there you have it folks. Made from scratch Buttermilk Ranch Dressing.
God Bless!
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