Ranch Dressing

As most everyone knows, I don't eat any dairy.  I am allergic to casein and lactose-intolerant.  It's really not too bad doing without most things and substitutes are readily available (for a ridiculous price, usually, but that's another post).  I hadn't tried to re-create ranch dressing because it's not a favorite of mine, but I did miss dipping veggies in it, so I made some for Christmas dinner and it is amazingly easy and scrumptious! 

I searched for recipes and tried to boil five or six versions into one basic template.  It's amazing how many "from scratch" recipes included Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch mix as an ingredient.  I mean, really!  How far removed from scratch cooking are we when adding mayo makes it from scratch!  LOL 

I made some more tonight and I think this is just about perfect, but as with all things I cook, I didn't measure precisely so it might require some fiddling.  Of course, this would also be delicious in the dairy version and significantly cheaper if you use dairy sour cream.  I had a stroke of genius that you might have already figured out, but I felt pretty darn smart.  Most recipes called for garlic and onion powder.  I don't keep them on hand because I'm a purist and just don't think they are ever as good as the real thing and I always have onions and garlic in the house anyway.  The problem was that I didn't want any chunks in my dressing and wasn't sure how to add onion and have it still be smooth, then - genius struck!  I stuck the onion in the garlic press and - voila! - smooth onion!  So, here's the recipe:

Kolbi's Ranch

1/2 C mayo
1/2 C sour cream (real or dairy-free)
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 piece onion (the size of a medium garlic clove), pressed
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
sprinkle MSG (but if anyone asks I will deny, deny, deny using this) ;-)

Mix and dip - super easy!