Image by ginnerobot via Flickr

Make this ahead of time and have plenty on hand for when you have the hankering for Ranch Dressing Mix. I like to serve ranch dressing with chicken wings, salads, carrot and celery sticks, hamburgers, and on sandwiches. It goes so well on so many things. I have tried many brands of bottled ranch dressing and I have to say homemade ranch dressing mix beats them all hands down. The bottled ranch dressings has a strange chemical taste, to me, from the preservatives. If you like ranch dressing you will love this mix.

Ingredients:

• 18 Saltines, finely crushed

• Read more in Salads

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  Family Meals Under $10 P.1 »

  1 3/4 cups parsley flakes

• 1/2 cup Onion Flakes

• 3 Tablespoons Dried Basil

• 5 Tablespoon Kosher or sea salt

• 5 Tablespoons Garlic Powder

• 5 Tablespoons Onion Powder

Mix all ingredients together and store in an air tight container. Now that you have the mix ready, you can store in the cupboard with your spices and will have a quick mix ready to go when you are. To make the ranch salad dressing from the mix,

• 1 Tablespoon ranch dressing mix

• 1 cup of your favorite mayonnaise

• 1 cup buttermilk (full fat for best consistency)

Blend the ingredients well, cover and refrigerate. Best if allowed to sit for at least one hour before serving. This allows for rehydration of parsley flakes, onion flakes, and dried basil and allows the spices to blend into the mayonnaise and buttermilk. Some great things just take a little time.

Serve with salad, chicken wings, hamburgers, fresh vegetables and baked potatoes. Ranch dressing is a great base for many family favorite recipes.