Homemade Ranch Dressing

This Homemade Ranch Dressing is creamy, tangy, and delicious.  You probably already have all of the ingredients in your home, and it's so easy to make.  It not only tastes better and fresher than the store-bought stuff, it's a healthier alternative because it doesn't include seed oils, added sugar, and MSG.  Simply whisk together the ingredients and enjoy right away or later.  This dressing tastes better the next day after the ingredients have had a chance to mingle.  Store it in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.  

Ingredients: 

Yields 12 oz dressing 

Serving size: 2 tbsp

(< 1 carb per serving)

• 1/2 c sour cream
• 1/2 c full-fat plain Greek yogurt, or 1/2 c mayonnaise 
• 1/4 c milk
• 1 tbsp white vinegar, or 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice 
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, or 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 1/2 tsp fresh dill, or 1/2 tsp dried dill
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, or to taste

Directions:

Combine and whisk together all of the ingredients.  Chill in the refrigerator. 

Enjoy!

Harvest Salsa

Well, we're heading into our third week of homeschooling already!  I love spending the extra time with my little sous chef and also the freedom that we have in our schedule.  Fall is my favorite season for so many reasons, but I have a feeling that homeschooling is going to top my list this year!  Speaking of fall, it's not quite here yet, but it sure has felt like it for some time now.  This has got to be the mildest (and wettest) summer that I can remember!  I've only had to water my garden three or four times this year because of how much rain we've had!  Not that I'm complaining.  My garden is bursting at the seams, and I've been trying my best to not waste anything and use the things that I have in excess in creative ways.  Last week, I made some Cinnamon White Chocolate and Zucchini Cookies, and they were ahhhmazing!  Unfortunately, they didn't last long enough for me to blog about them.

This week, I found myself with a lot of extra corn and tomatoes, so I decided to make a salsa to go along with blackened chicken and rice for dinner.  This salsa is bright, refreshing, and uses ingredients straight from the garden.  While the avocado is optional, it really adds a lovely creamy contrast to the crunchy texture of the salsa.  Serve it with tortilla chips, chicken, beef, or seafood!

Black Bean Pico de Gallo

Fresh, tangy, slightly sweet, spicy, crunchy, healthy, low in calories... the perfect condiment to dip your tortilla chips into or top your tacos with!  Pico de Gallo is an uncooked Mexican condiment that contains much less liquid than salsa, so it can be used as a main ingredient in your favorite Mexican dishes.  It's very versatile, so you can add or subtract ingredients to your own taste.  

Back to Basics: Homemade Peanut Butter

You can easily make your own peanut butter that tastes just as good, if not better, than store-bought brands.  I have found that a lot of recipes call for the addition of different oils, honey, etc., which is completely unnecessary.  Commercial brands tend to add in a lot of sugar to their peanut butter and, since most people have become accustomed to that sugary taste, I have included the option of adding confectioner's sugar to match that taste.  If you enjoy crunchy peanut butter, simply set aside 1/4 cup chopped peanuts and stir them into the peanut butter at the end.

Homemade peanut butter should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and used within two to three weeks.  

Back to Basics: Homemade Butter & Buttermilk

A lot of things have been happening here at Cooking Creation over the past several months.  I have been doing freelance food writing for food.com and have had to take a little hiatus from blogging while working on a big Thanksgiving project.  I'm very excited to share what I've been doing in the next month or so with you.  I will have lots of delicious holiday recipes and how-to posts to share with plenty of photos, so stay tuned!

Now that that project is over and my daughter is back to school, my schedule is a little lighter.  I decided that I wanted to start posting some back to basics recipes, starting with homemade butter.  Making your own butter is incredibly easy and requires only one ingredient.