Meal Stretcher Monday: Home Made Ranch!

I have made no secret of my love for vegetables.  Now that the weather has warmed up, and I have discovered the tragic loss of my waistline from a winter of "comfort" foods, I'm spending even more time with my veggies.

The other day I bought carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, and cauliflower from my grocery's produce aisle. I was going to pick up a container of ranch dip, but they were out.  Rather than schlep across town to plunk down four bucks, I decided to see if I could make my own.

Mmm.  Dippy.

To the internet!


There are quite a few sites offering recipes, but they all seem to be the same:

2 Tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp pepper

(The only variations I found either involved adding powdered buttermilk, or a half tsp of salt, or both)

Add your ingredients to a jar, put the lid on, and shake it like it owes you money.

I can't wait to see how many things I can add this to.

Done!

Now - how to use it...

If you want to make ranch dressing, most sites advocate a mix of 1 Tbsp ranch seasoning to...
1) 1 cup mayonnaise and 1/2 cup sour cream


Or:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter milk

Or:
1 cup mayonnaise
1.2 cup sour cream

I have a confession to make.  I'm deeply suspicious of mayonnaise.  Deeply.

Instead, I mixed this with some plain yogurt.  It's tart and tangy, and I loved it!  (The kids...not so much).

Get creative!  It's your recipe now, so run with it.

Oh, and tell me how it goes.  I love comments!

P.S. If you want this ground up (so that you can sprinkle it on french fries or whatever) just run it through the coffee grinder!  ...Clean out the coffee first.