Homemade Salad Dressings are not only fast and simple, they are delicious and can be customized to suit your taste. This dressing is great on any green salad or as a raw veggie dip. I love it on a taco salad with fresh salsa – Yum!
Ranch Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 tsp. dried dill
- 1/2 tsp. ground celery seed
- 1/4 tsp. paprika
- dash of cayenne pepper
- buttermilk, enough to reach desired consistency
Combine all ingredients in a mason jar, stir or shake until well blended. Taste, adjust seasonings if desired. Refrigerate. Best if made an hour or two before serving so that the flavors can mix well, but can be served immediately.
I have also substituted mayonnaise and sour cream for plain whole milk yogurt and buttermilk and then add a dash of organic evaporated cane juice sugar. Fresh lemon juice would also be a nice addition!
Proud Daddy
Father’s Day – a day to celebrate my awesome husband for being such an amazing Daddy to our children. We decided to head up to Seattle in hopes that the fresh air and stimulation would keep the little ones happy which in turn would keep Mommy & Daddy sane. This day, we were successful in those hopes and had a very enjoyable, relaxed day as a family!
First, we enjoyed a free hour-long sailboat ride courtesy of The Center for Wooden Boats on Lake Union. We arrived just in time to catch the 1:00pm sailing of a large 12 person open sailboat and filled the last 3 slots available. We also pulled into the parking lot just as someone was leaving so we got free parking to boot. Perfect.
After the boat ride, we walked towards Seattle Center, all the while taking note of businesses and cafes on these downtown streets. We found a quaint Thai restaurant not to far from Seattle Center and enjoyed a delicious meal while both children slept in the stroller. Score! We packed the leftovers and arrived at The Seattle Children’s Museum just in time to discover that if we waited 15 minutes, we could enjoy the last hour of admission by donation instead of the regular $7.50 per person fee. Our timing was impeccable as Annabelle woke up just then and was ready to eat and by the time she was done, we walked right into the Museum and thoroughly enjoyed the exhibits. It was so nice to be able to check the Museum out before paying admission to determine if a trip up there in the future would be worth it. We determined it definitely would be!
After the Museum closed, we walked around Seattle Center and let Annabelle run around and climb on rocks and then walked back to the car. We all got out, saw new things, got fresh air – and all for the cost of 1 meal + gas. Not bad!
I encourage you to check out free or frugal options for your next fun day as a family. If nothing else, getting outside in the fresh air will do wonders for everyone.
