Hi again, Adam-- 'Can't believe this thread's still near the top of the page. :) If it helps any, here are two healthy homemade ranch recipes I've found online. They both sound good to me, but as I said before, I think any ranch recipe would taste even better with minced veggies mixed right in. Maybe you could doctor one of these recipes to your liking. Good luck, again! :) -------------------------------------------------------- 1.) Low-Fat Ranch Dip (quoted from FoodReference.Com): Makes 2 cups Provides 1 vegetable serving per cup portion This fabulous dip is full of cancer-fighting nutrients and it contains the secret of a good dip-texture. The secret is beans. It's true! Canned Great Northern beans can be pureed to a silky smoothness and then made into a delicious ranch-type dip. Whiz a can of rinsed and drained beans in a blender with up to ¼ cup of water for 2 whole minutes and then scrape into a bowl. Now add ½ cup of plain yogurt, a tablespoon of roasted garlic, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and some finely chopped chives, parsley, and dried tarragon. Mix and serve with fresh spring vegetables like carrots, asparagus, and sugar snap peas. You'll get great taste with every bite. 1 15-ounce can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained ¼ cup water ½ cup plain low-fat yogurt ½ teaspoon garlic powder or 1 tablespoon of roasted garlic pinch cayenne pepper ¼ teaspoon pepper 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley ¼ teaspoon dried tarragon ¼ teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1. Whiz the beans and garlic in a blender, adding enough water to achieve the desired consistency. Blend for 2 full minutes to make it silky-smooth. Use a spatula to scrape the mixture into a medium bowl. 2. Stir in the yogurt, cayenne, chives, parsley, and tarragon, salt and lemon juice. Serve in a bowl surrounded by spring vegetables such as sugar snap peas, tiny radishes, baby carrots, and lightly steamed baby new potatoes. Nutritional Analysis per serving: 40 calories less than 1 g fat 10% calories from fat 0 g saturated fat 0% calories from saturated fat 8 g carbohydrates 246 mg sodium 2 g dietary fiber --------------------------------------------------------- 2.) Ranch Dip (quoted from BitsysKitchen.com): Ranch Dip 1 clove garlic, peeled 3 small green onions cut into 1 inch pieces 8 oz. nonfat cream cheese, softened 2 Tbsp. reduced calorie mayonnaise 1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt 2 tsp. lemon juice With food processor on, add garlic clove and then green onions through food chute, and process until minced. Add cream cheese and mayonnaise, and process until smooth. Add yogurt and lemon juice; pulse 3 times or until well blended. Cover and chill. Serve with raw vegetables. Yield: 1-1/3 cups (serving size: 1 tablespoon). -----------------------------------------------------------

Here are several I pulled off the 'net too. I used the last one in the No Peek Casserole and it was good. Haven't tried them yet as just salad dressing, I'm still using up an industrial size HV Ranch packet. Any of these could be made up as dry mixes sans the "wet stuff". RANCH SALAD DRESSING 1 c. mayonnaise 1 c. buttermilk 1 tsp. parsley flakes 1 tsp. garlic salt 1/4 tsp. Accent 1/8 tsp. pepper Mix together and serve. Note: tastes like Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing. Dry onion flakes may be added if desired. I prefer the dressing without onions. HOMEMADE RANCH DRESSING 1/4 c. powdered buttermilk 3 tbsp. dried minced onions 3 tbsp. minced dried parsley 1 tbsp. dried minced chives 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. garlic powder 1/2 tsp. ground celery seed 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper In a bowl or jar which you can cover - combine all ingredients. Mix well. Store tightly covered until ready to use. Makes about 3/4 cup mix. Enough to prepare 8 cups of dressing. For Ranch Dressing: Combine 1 1/2 tablespoons of mix to 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup mayonnaise. Ranch Dressing  1 cup mayonnaise  1/2 cup sour cream  1/4 cup of milk  1 teaspoon parsley  1 teaspoon garlic powder or mashed fresh garlic  1 teaspoon chopped onion 1. Just mix all of the ingredients together. 2. Chill for at least an hour before serving. ___________________________________________________________________________________-  1/2 C. mayo  1/2 C. yogurt  1 tsp dill  2 tsp parsley  1/4 tsp, garlic salt  1/4 tsp. onion salt  1/4 tsp. pepper Wisk all ingredients together and youÂre done! Deanna

Got all these from the cooking forum and they are favorites! Made the spinach salad from Ann for a luncheon, it was a very big hit! Vittorio's Spinach Salad from Ann T Vittorio's was a restaurant in Toronto that we use to go to years ago. Salad isn't something that I would usually order but I loved his. This is my recreation of his recipe. Salad: Washed and dried baby spinach 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled 4 or 5 cleaned mushrooms, sliced 1 can of artichoke hearts halved or quartered 3 Roma tomatoes, quartered 2 chopped green onions Kalamata olives Dressing: 1/4 teaspoon tarragon 1/2 clove of garlic 2 or 3 tablespoons wine vinegar 1/2 cup homemade mayo or Hellmans salt and pepper Place spinach in a large salad bowl. Decorate with eggs, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, tomatoes and green onions and olives. Drizzle with dressing and toss. Can be made on individual plates as well. Dressing: Soak tarragon and garlic in vinegar. Add salt to dissolve. Mix vinegar mixture into mayonnaise and adjust seasoning to taste. ------------------------------------------- Nancy's "55" Salad Dressing (wizardnm) 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1/4 cup vinegar 1/4 cup water 2 teaspoons salt 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper 1/2 teaspoon celery seed (optional) 1 cup vegetable oil Combine garlic, dry mustard, vinegar and water in a food processor or blender. Pulse to combine. Add salt, sugar, peppers, and celery seed (if using) With processor or blender running, SLOWLY add vegetable oil in a thin stream. After oil is added, continue to process another 3 minutes. --------------------------------------------------------- Creamy Roquefort Dressing (mqmoi) 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1 large shallot, minced 1 tablespoon Sherry wine vinegar 1 large garlic clove, minced 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 1/3 cup crumbled Roquefort cheese 3 tablespoons whipping cream Whisk first 5 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Fold in Roquefort cheese and cream. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

I made the walnut dressing that was posted on the thread and it is excellant, a little bit different, but so good. I think ltcollins posted it.