Ranch Salad Dressing Recipe: Simple Solution

I have been contemplating making my own dressing for some time now – so many store bought are laden with ingredients that are unknown, preservatives I can’t pronounce and additives you don’t really want to eat.   This one is made from ingredients you probably have in your pantry

We used the last of our Maria’s Ranch Dressing – the little ones were happy & busy. I seized the moment.

Ingredients

3/4 cup of light sour cream
3/4 cup of lowfat yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon of parsley flakes
1 1/2 teaspoon of dried chives 1/2 teaspoon of salt 1 teaspoon of agave or sugar
Squeeze of lemon juice or rice vinegar – maybe 1/2-1 teaspoon

Combine all the ingredients, adjust seasonings to your taste and chill.

I made the recipe in the clean and empty Maria’s jar – so I didn’t even need to mess up a bowl.

Gave my 3 year old a taste and she wanted the whole spoon! She is pretty much exclusively a ranch girl – so we’ll take that as a positive review. It really is delish – if I do say so myself!

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Green Granite Cleaner: Home Recipe

Natural Stone requires extra care because it is a honed surface that and you’ll want to maintain their honed polish. To do this you want to clean with a solution that contain a neutral pH.

Requiring a neutral pH eliminates some of the more common natural cleaning ingredients, lemon at a pH of 2.4, vinegar at 2.8, & baking soda at 9.0.

I often use the PND All Purpose Cleaner on our granite counters and have yet to notice a problem, but it does contain vinegar – so not the best choice. A more delicate variety of granite may suffer over time.

Recipe

6 cups of Water
1/3 cup + 1 tsp of Alcohol denatured or regular
1 Tbs of Castille Soap – I use almond
20 Drops of Essential Oil – I use citrus or almond

If you want a stronger anti fungal or antibacterial add:
1/3 cup + 1 tsp Tea Tree Oil

This recipe will fill two spray bottles ~ I make my cleaners in batches so I don’t have to make them as often.

If you choose to add Tea Tree Oil be sure to add at least 4% as called for in the recipe, any less and you could promote bacterial resistance. Additionally omit the essential oil.  Tea tree oil has a strong eucalyptus scent that will overpower any other fragrance.

I make ours without the tea tree, the alcohol kills enough germs for my comfort level.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_tree_oil

http://www.pbase.com/weed30/cleaning_granite

http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2004/s1081381.htm

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090821043836AA7ohgN

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