I’m that mean mom that forces my kids to eat veggies instead of chips and french fries. Now, before you roll your eyes I will admit that we do enjoy the rare spud-style-snacks. Especially if it’s Chicfila Waffle Fries!  But for the most part, they don’t enter our house other than those moments of weakness and over-scheduled activity that call for an emergency meal. Ok. Maybe that is more often than I admit.
Teaching them to eat veggies from day one has been one of the best things I did as a younger mom.  My kids will chow down on a stack of raw green beans as if they were french fries, and they’ll devour a bowlful of sliced cucumbers instead of chips.
The trick? This awesome ranch dressing recipe.
I admit that because I tend to not handle messy foods well, I’ve trained my kids not to use dips, ESPECIALLY ketchup except for rare occasions.  I just don’t do messy well, I confess, but then I came up with this recipe. Now it is a staple in our home and is always available in our fridge. I have not purchased pre-made, MSG laden, processed Ranch dressing in years.  I hope you love it as much as we do!
 

Peppercorn Ranch Dressing

Mix together in  a medium bowl:
2/3 cup kefir, or greek yogurt, or sour cream (for dairy-free try coconut yogurt)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. dried chives
1/2 tsp. dried dill
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Once you have combined all of those, add milk  (for dairy free, skip or use coconut milk) 1 teaspoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.  Let sit for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to come out.
Sometimes I leave the dressing thicker for dip and then add milk later if we’re using it on a salad.
We can go through about this much in a week and it doesn’t go bad.  We love to make a cucumber salad with it by just slicing the cucumbers and a little red onion then putting ranch over it. Toss together and let rest in the fridge for 40 minutes. So stinkin’ good!
It’s seriously so easy that Selah and Jake can make it!  If they can, you can!  You have no excuse and I bet you’ll get compliments and requests for the recipe all the time like I do!
Enjoy!