Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

I remember when I was a kid, I loved Hidden Valley Ranch dressing. After all, ranch dressing makes everything taste better (or is that butter???). I was in love with this dressing…I mean addicted. I remember one night when my cousin slept over, we decided to make a salad after everyone went to bed. We doused our salads in ranch dressing, went back to my bedroom, and videotaped ourselves eating our salads. We were “uhmming” and “ahhhhhing” like we were eating the best meal known to mankind. We were some silly kids, but that video makes me laugh to think about. I mean what kid sneaks out of their room to eat ranch dressing?!?!? Uh…Me?

After I got married, I thought I would be a little domestic and make “homemade” ranch dressing. I found Hidden Valley Ranch packets at the store. “Wow!” I thought to myself, “Now I can make ranch dressing homemade. I am sure my hubby will be so impressed.” It did taste fresher than the stuff in the bottle, but not quite what I was looking for.

So, I kicked the homemade to the curb and went for the refrigerated dressing. In my opinion it is better than the stuff on the shelf and the packets, but it is not as good as HOMEMADE! Plus, the refrigerated dressing is more pricey. With my big family who sucks down ranch dressing like it is a milkshake, buying the refrigerated stuff can get pricey to buy bottles every week. And I prefer not to consume “extra” ingredients (e.g., fillers, preservatives, artificial flavors, etc.) whenever possible .

I never entertained the thought of making salad dressings from scratch. When I realized how easy it was to make it, I was on it like white on rice and I haven’t stopped. This is a staple at our house. I have been making this dressing for two years and just recently passed the buck to my nine-year old daughter. I have to say, she does a fine job at whipping this together.

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing