Homemade Ranch Dressing

After seeing this beautiful post on A Beautiful Mess I decided to try it! I only got as far as making the dressing during the weekend and haven't made the veggie chips yet. Which I fully intend to when I have time! At first I have to say I didn't like this ranch when I tasted it fresh out of the bowl. It wasn't bad at all, just very yogurt-y. Confession, I don't really like yogurt. I know, I know, it's so amazing for you and comes in 8 gillion different flavors, textures etc. That is why I keep trying it. I WILL force myself to like it. 

Anyway, when I tried this ranch the next day? Different story. The flavors had 'married' if you will, and no yogurt taste remained. Just delicious ranch! The second time I made this I used sour cream instead of yogurt and liked the outcome much better. It was still more delicious the second day after making, just like the yogurt version. This doesn't taste like bottled ranch, and you shouldn't expect any homemade product to taste just like bottled! But it does taste like ranch dressing!

I scaled the recipe down by three (to get one cup total). This led to some weird measurements, but since there are roughly three teaspoons in a tablespoon I was able to make it work. I didn't think I could finish three cups of ranch before it goes off, A Beautiful Mess says a week is the longest you should keep this. 

All wet ingredients mixed in. I used a garlic press to crush the garlic. I chose a small clove since garlic flavor intensifies with time and I still wanted to taste the other ingredients! I bought low-fat buttermilk, but it was still really good!

Snipping chives with kitchen shears is the easiest way to go. It's very satisfying. Like cutting off all your doll's hair and yet having no consequences. (I never gave my dolls haircuts, but oh how I longed to...)

I sprinkled in some cayenne pepper as well and whisked it all together!

I used a left over Annie's mustard bottle. To get the inside clean and remove smells from its previous product, soak it in bleach and hot water. Not boiling, PET (clear plastic as shown below) will melt in boiling water. Use Goo Gone to remove the label and sticky residue from the outside without damaging the plastic. I had this ranch with some bagged kettle chips and a mimosa with hand squeezed orange juice for a delicious Sunday afternoon snack!