Homemade Ranch

Ok. So I'm aware that there's a ranch-frenzy among lots of people...

...I mean...

I cannot say that I am on the 'ranch obsession' train. Ranch and I's relationship has been mostly indifferent for the majority of my life.

...Until I started making it from scratch.

Now I know what you ranch-obsessers are talking about. Now I can dress up in boas and tutu's and now i'm comfortable enough to pose in front of a ranch fountain... ;)

Trust me when  Isay making this ranch from scratch is way, way, WAY better than anything you could buy in a bottle!  

You know EXACTLY what's going in it (...hello? Have you SEEN how long Ranch can last in your refrigerator? It's unnatural...) and it's super fresh and NOT processed. 

PLUS, I guarantee that you probably have the majority of the ingredients already on hand.

We keep everything on hand to make it because we go through this QUICKLY around here.

This recipe makes 16 ounces 

SHOPPING LIST:

3/4 cup of mayonnaise

3/4 cup of sour cream 

1/2 cup of whole milk (2% works fine, too!)

1 1/2 teaspoons of dill weed

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried chives

1 1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon of onion powder

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

A pinch of sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Whisk all ingredients together and store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks!

I promise, once you start making your own ranch, you'll never own another bottle again.

guac.

You CAN'T celebrate Taco Tuesday and ESPECIALLY Cinco de Mayo without guac.

If you don't have a 'go-to' guac recipe... put this one in your arsenal.

This recipe makes A LOT of guac. Think "take it to a pool party with a bunch of people and still bring some back home with you" a lot... 

SHOPPING LIST:

5 ripened avocados

3 tablespoons of sour cream

2 teaspoons of lime juice

1/4 cup of purple onion (you may refer to these as 'red onions' but we call it like we see it over here..)

4 roma tomatoes, diced

3 garlic cloves, finely minced (use a garlic press if you have one!)

Salt and Pepper, to taste.

DIRECTIONS:

Start by smashing your avocados to the consistency you prefer - I always use a whisk to smash them!  Add the rest of your ingredients and stir well to combine.  Enjoy!

There. You now have no excuse to need to buy that nasty, store bought guacamole.

You're welcome.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

cowboy caviar

The first time I had ever tried cowboy caviar was a few years ago at our annual recipe exchange and I clearly didn't understand exactly 'what' I was eating.

For those of you like me who have never heard of 'cowboy caviar', it's a dip

...and I was eating it with a spoon.

Ha!

It really was that good! So I knew I needed to try my hand at it.

You'll see this delicious concoction nearly every Saturday afternoon when our Florida Gators are playing, hanging out by the pool for our friends to enjoy, or tucked into a few different recipes! 

SHOPPING LIST:

2 cans of black eyed peas, drained

1 can of sweet whole kernel corn, drained

2 cans of Hunt's fire roasted diced tomatoes (or any tomatoes of your liking!), drained

1 avocado, diced

1 green belle pepper, diced 

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

1/2 cup of red onion, chopped

1/2 cup of cilantro, chopped

1 cup of Zesty Italian dressing

4 tablespoons of lime juice 

salt and pepper to taste 

DIRECTIONS:

Simple, simple, simple - just combine all of your ingredients into a bowl and add salt and pepper to taste! Let this sit in the fridge for a few hours before serving so the flavors can marry together. Dip this with a yummy tortilla chip OR spread onto a taco
...or you can eat it straight from the spoon like I did.
I won't pass any judgement.

Easy, peasy... perfect, refreshing, healthy snack to have around the house on a hot day!

lemon garlic aioli

Eye-balling that tub of Aioli that you see sitting near the Mayo on the shelves of the grocery store?

Psh.

My lemon garlic aioli is a great way to add a fresh and bright little flare to your week night dinner and is easy and quick to make from scratch!

Sausage, pork, chicken and basically any roasted veggie tastes better covered in this stuff...

Now 'Aioli' is basically a fancy term for garlic seasoned mayonnaise - so there's a TON of different ways that we like to dress it up around here (think fresh herbs and spices!)...

This one just happens to be our typical go-to...

this makes about 8 ounces of aioli

SHOPPING LIST:

4 tablespoons of mayo

Juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

3 garlic cloves - finely minced

Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients into a mixing bowl... that's it!

The aioli will keep in the fridge for up to a week!

May I make a recommendation?

Roast up some sweet potato fries (recipe coming your way soon!) and dip away for a guilt free snack.

Yum, yum, yum!