homemade ranch dressing

Ranch has quickly passed up ketchup as the favorite condiment in our house.  E requests "ench" at just about every meal and dips everything from carrots to apple slices in the creamy goodness.  Until recently I truly thought I was doing good just buying the "light" variety of a popular ranch brand.  Ummmm, NO!  Have you looked at the ingredients?  What the heck is disodium guanylate?  Rule number one - if you can't pronounce it, don't eat it!!

I decided step one to unprocessing our lives would be getting rid of the bottled stuff.  I tried out this recipe from the Pioneer Woman (love her!) and it passed the picky four year old test.  Wahoo!!  I decided I couldn't put jarred mayo in my homemade ranch, so I whipped up a batch of that, too.

Homemade Ranch Dressing (From Pioneer Woman)

1 clove garlic

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup mayo

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup parsley, minced

2 tbsp dill

1 tbsp chives

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp white vinegar

1/4 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 to 1/2 cup buttermilk (depending on desired consistency

I just threw everything into the food processor and mixed it up for a bit.  Both boys said it was delish.  Point for Mom!

homemade mayo

I love me some mayo. I like mayo so much that one year my teaching partner, Lindsey, gave me a VAT of it for Christmas. I'm not kidding, it was huge! And yes, I finished off every last bit of it. Well, mayo from the jar is probably a no no in the unprocessed world, so I had to find a way to make my own. Lo! An unprocessed mayo!

Homemade Mayo

1 large egg

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup plus 1 cup light olive oil (NOT extra virgin!)

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp salt

Crack the egg into your food processor (or blender) and add the lemon juice. Let them come to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Then add 1/4 cup olive oil, the mustard, and salt to the canister.  Blend until all are combined. Now here comes the fun part. With the food processor turned on, add the remaining cup of olive oil by pouring very, very slow. You want to skinniest stream possible.  This should take 2-3 minutes. Don't rush it or it will not work. Patience, my friend, patience! Once all the olive oil is incorporated, it should turn into a lovely, white yumminess. It will keep in the fridge until the egg expiration date.

Photo and Recipe from The Clothes Make the Girl

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