Irene asked me if anyone has a recipe for the powdered Ranch Dressing mix? YOu know the kind you can buy in those little packs then add your own, mayonnaise, sour cream or buttermilk to. I thought that I had seen it before, but can't recall where it was posted.

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), April 04, 2002

Answers

Here's one I have. By the way here is some Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing trivia: The original version was created at the Hidden Valley Guest Ranch in Santa Barbara in the 1950s. The formula was subsequently purchased by the Clorox company, which uses the Hidden Valley name to this day, but "ranch" has become a generic term not just for a dressing but for a buttermilky flavor (as in ranch- flavored chips).

HIDDEN VALLEY STYLE RANCH DRESSING

15 saltines
2 cups dry parsley flakes, minced
1/2 cup instant minced onion
2 tablespoons dry dill weed
1/4 cup onion salt
1/4 cup garlic salt
1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 cup garlic powder

Place crackers through blender on high speed until powdered. Add parsley, minced onion and dill weed. Blend again until powdered. Dump into a bowl. Stir in onion powder and salt, and garlic powder and salt. Put into container with tight fitting lid. Store dry mix at room temperature for up to 1 year.

To mix: combine 1 Tbsp. dry mix, 1 cup of mayonnaise and 1 cup of buttermilk.

-- Karen (mountains_mama2@hotmail.com), April 04, 2002.

Thanks Karen, I figured you would have it!

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), April 04, 2002.

Thanks alot, this will be a real money saver, My family likes ranch dressing. And we are all into saving money here. this is a great family on this forum.

-- Irene texas (tkorsborn@cs.com), April 04, 2002.

I tried the recipe posted a couple years ago and we didn't care that much for it.

Years ago, I got a leftover jar of Tone's Buttermilk Ranch mix from a restaurant going out of business. You mix it with milk and mayo or salad dressing. It is really good.

Last year I looked Tone's up on the web and bought a case of six one and a half pound containers of it. We're still working on the first jar of the mix and we use a LOT of ranch dressing.

The only drawback on buying direct is having to buy a case lot, but maybe you can share with friends.

With shipping I think it worked out to seven dollars a jar. I'd guess you get about four, maybe five gallons of dressing out of a jar.

-- Tis I (really_tis_i@yahoo.com), April 04, 2002.

I thought the Tones mix was way too salty. Joy of Cooking has a recipe from scratch that is real good. It is too late for me to post it, I will be gone for a couple of days. If you want that recipe email me a reminder to read on Monday.

-- Laura (Ladybugwrangler@hotmail.com), April 05, 2002.

I had the privilege of speaking with the originator of Hidden Valley Salad Dressing many years ago. I never asked him for the recipe and he never shared it. Although He never shared his secret with me I found a copy of a recipe for it in one of the local Church mimeogrphed cook books that are often created as fund raisers.It is substantially if not the same.

The originatoer of the recipe brought the recipe with him when he came to Santa Barbara from Alaska. He actually lived at Hidden Valley Guest Ranch. The owners of the ranch who were very mechanically inclined helped him develop a method to create it and package it in large amounts.

The gentleman that created the recipe sold the formula to a large name company for a tidy sum and he moved to Reno Nevada where he supposedly wanted to spend his last days.

Recipe: Place equal amounts of Onion Powder Garlic Powder and MSG in a mixing bowlof suitable size. Add dried parsley flakes to taste. Mix until well blended. For the salad dressing, take one tablespoons of the mix and combine it with 1 cup of Mayonaise and 1 cup of buttermilk. Shake well before using each time.

-- Silvio Di Loreto (silviodd@cox.net), September 28, 2002.