Those of you who know my husband and I know that we are borderline, wanna-be hippies when it comes to food and sustainability.  We would eat all natural, all fresh food all the time if we could, and for the most part we try to avoid preservatives, chemical additives and processed food.  That’s not to say that we don’t eat plenty of bad stuff, but we’ve definitely made a conscious decision to do the best we can for ourselves and our girls.  Our beehives, chickens and expanding vegetable garden are evidence of our efforts, but we also try to do our best at the grocery store.

We’ve taken a good look at the ingredients of the things we buy at the store and realized that we can make a lot of this stuff at home, ourselves.  This is where today’s post comes in – homemade ranch dressing.  It’s fabulous.  Garlicky, creamy and tangy – and all fresh, natural ingredients.

Plus, it’s SUPER easy.  Put all the ingredients in the blender and blend it for 30 seconds.  Done.  This recipe makes about a quart of dressing, and since it doesn’t have preservatives, it should probably be used within 7-10 days.  Way better than the stuff in the squeeze bottle!  I would imagine you could cut the recipe in half because if you’re like us, we won’t use that much in a week.  You can also use low fat mayo and sour cream to cut down the calories a bit.

We’ll definitely make this one again.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 cup buttermilk
1 handful fresh Italian parsley
1 bunch chives, chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon lemon juice (fresh is best)
1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Add all ingredients to blender or food processor and blend for 30 seconds or until well combined.  You might need to scrape down bowl a couple of times.  Store refrigerated in an air-tight container.  For a thinner consistency, add more buttermilk.  Taste as you go and adjust seasonings to your liking.

Enjoy!
Recipe from Confections of a Foodie Bride