Homemade Ranch Dressing

With all the junk that is in the commercial varieties of Ranch Dressing, I just can't bring myself to buy it.  But my menfolk love it, so I went on the hunt for a DIY version and after some tweaking, this is where I landed.

Ranch Dressing

Herbs:
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1 Tablespoon chives, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons freshly grated parmesan or Romano cheese
1 dash hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Base:
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 dash raw apple cider vinegar

Mix all of it together with either a stick blender, a Magic Bullet or a whisk.  It doesn't mix very well if you just shake the jar. **

Stores well in the fridge.  I just put it in a glass jar with a screw top lid and it keeps for weeks.

**My stick blender is as old as the hills, and I got it second hand, but there are tons on the market out there.
I got my Magic Bullet on sale at Costco, and they can be found online or in other stores, as well.  I use my Magic Bullet just about every day.  Best kitchen appliance purchase I've made in years!

Aussie Bites Remake

My daughter-in-law is half Australian, so when I saw Aussie Bites at Costco, I thought I'd better buy them.  My granddaughter loves them, and goes to the pantry whenever they come to visit.  So, I decided I needed to figure out how to make them myself without some of the yucky stuff that is in the store-bought ones.  Here's my go at it.....

Ingredients

4 cups oats, ground
1 cup shredded coconut
2/3 cup chopped sunflower seeds
1/4 cup chopped flax seeds
1/2 cup chopped raisins
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup honey

1 Tablespoon flax seed ground and then mixed well with 6 Tablespoons water  (I use my Magic Bullet to grind the seeds and then add the water and whirl them up again.  I got mine at Costco.)

Mix all the dry ingredients together.

Mix butter, coconut oil and honey in a small saucepan and melt together. Pour over dry ingredients.

Add flax & water mixture to everything else and mix well.

I use a 2 T measuring cup, dip it into water and then press the oat mixture firmly into the little cup. In order to get it to release, I use a paring or table knife to break the suction and then plop it onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake for about 10 minutes in a 350* oven.

Makes about 36

They're really good. :-)