Ranch dip for veggies

Today I'm sharing my new finding from Penzeys Spice Shop. Penzeys is a fun place to visit. The spice shop has locations throughout the country and you'll find most items your kitchen spice pantry needs here. There are sweet and savory spices, herb blends, and a variety of salts and peppers.

The past few times I had gone into Penzeys, which has a location in Raleigh's Cameron Village, the Buttermilk Ranch dressing base caught my eye. It's described as:

"Ranch style salad dressing is lower in fat than most, as it uses buttermilk for flavor and body. Also excellent for fresh vegetable dip, or sprinkled on baked chicken or fish, 1-2 tsp. per lb. To make 1 cup dressing, mix 1 TB. seasoning in 1 TB. water, let stand five minutes, then whisk with1/2 cup buttermilk and 1/2 cup mayonnaise. For a lower calorie version use low-fat mayonnaise, or up the proportion of buttermilk, which will make the dressing thinner, but equally tasty. Ranch dressing should be refrigerated, check the freshness date on the buttermilk carton, and write it on the dressing bottle.
Hand-mixed from: salt, bell peppers, garlic, onion, sugar, black pepper, parsley, thyme and basil."

We don't use a whole lot of Ranch spice mix but whenever we're hosting a party and will have a veggie platter with dip I take the shortcut and mix sour cream with a Hidden Valley Ranch packet. The Penzeys ingredient list for the Buttermilk Ranch dressing base is much more appealing than the previous packet I had been purchasing. I recognize everything from the list and can pronounce everything as well. With the Penzeys mix in a bottle I can also use as much or as little as I need and keep the rest without wasting it.

A few weeks after I had purchased the Buttermilk Ranch mix Patrick and I were wanting an afternoon snack. I found some leftover snap peas in the refrigerator and knew they would be wonderful served next to a light Ranch dip. I mixed a 1:1 blend of sour cream and yogurt before adding to the Buttermilk Ranch mix to taste. It was delicious! This is a fun addition to the pantry and I recommend it!