Easy Ranch Dressing!

As the temperature outside gets hotter, one thing I crave is a cold, crisp salad!  Growing up I don't think I ever truly realized that there were other salad dressing options other than Ranch.   I mean seriously, I doused it on just about everything!  As I have become more and more aware about the ingredients in processed food, compounded by our kids' food allergies, I have started making more and more from scratch.  I have learned a few things along the way..... most of it isn't that hard!  Makes me wonder why I didn't start doing all of these things years ago!

First off I will show you this post over at Fooducate about the ingredients in a certain very well known and much beloved Ranch Dressing.   Ingredients!  Just thinking about how many bottles of this stuff I have eaten and it sickens me!

Now I know that all people who suffer from food allergies can vary in different degrees.  We were given full reign to explore and try different dairy options (other than Cow) so that's how I came to whip up this gem that is now a staple at our house.  If your allergies are more severe, I would highly suggest asking about testing for goat dairy.  While we do enjoy some alternative plant based dairy products, being able to consume and cook with goat products has made this journey so much easier.  We've found a wide variety of products from Chevre (which is easy to find) to cheddar, provolone, and yogurt!  But as always when dealing with allergies check the labels!  I don't know all of the brands out there so I can only account for our personal experiences. 

For this recipe it is basically equal parts goat yogurt and mayo, then thinned with 'milk' and add seasonings.  Any of the milk alternatives will work obviously you want the unflavored ;o)  I have found this actually works better than goat milk in this recipe because the alternative milk mellows out the tang of the yogurt.  If the thought of the yogurt is too much for you just think of it as sour cream.... it has (to me at least) the same taste as sour cream just with a yogurt texture.  We even use it in place of sour cream in many other dishes or even dolloped on tacos!  The ratio of spices can be adjusted or even add it new spices to suit your own taste buds.  If you like a bold garlic then add fresh minced garlic, if after a mellow flavor use powder. Think of this recipe as a base to add and change however you want!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup goat yogurt
1/2 cup mayo
1-2 TB milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder (or fresh minced garlic)
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dill
pinch of paprika (or splash of hot sauce)

Mix well, taste, adjust seasonings, then let it chill in the fridge before using.

Easy, ranch, dairy free, goat, goat yogurt, dressing, homemade, fast, delicious,

Garden Markers

I was searching for ways to mark the areas of our garden so that we could remember where things are planted..... anyone who knows me, knows that I can't even keep my kids' names straight so I really can't remember where we planted things.  I found tons of cute ideas, thanks Pinterest, but none of them seemed like anything we wanted to do.  Then walking through the Dollar Store and had an epihany..... I could use some cheap pinwheels and duct tape!  Okay, so maybe this idea costs a tad more than painting rocks but it won't break the bank and it will help keep birds away! Even grossly overestimating how much a small strip of tape costs I would say these come in at just about $.60 each.  You can use whatever color tape suits your fancy or you could even use different prints to code them instead of writing on them. Whatever floats your boat!

Here's one finished! I'll post more pics once the whole garden is full! 

 Supplies are simple enough: pinwheels, duct tape, scissors, and marker

 Start by pulling 4 inches, give or take, of tape then halve that piece.  (These are small pinwheels, if yours are larger just figure out how long you want the flags and double the length) 

 Place your flag low enough so that it doesn't interfere with the spinning.  Put the pinwheel stick at roughly the half way point and carefully fold over. 

 It's okay if the end doesn't perfectly line up, just cut notches in the end to make it decorative. 

Then write your plant name and you are done.  Cheap and very quick project!!