Ranch Dressing Mix

Dry ranch dressing mix from 5 Dollar Dinners is a very popular pin - it's a homemade replacement for those ranch dressing packets.

You just mix up some spices and toss them in a jar. When you're ready to make dressing, whisk together mayo or yogurt with milk, and add the mix. You can shift from indulgent to healthy by changing the ratio of mayo to plain yogurt.

Parsley, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, basil, ground black pepper. That's it. I used fresh parsley because I didn't have any dried on hand. This is how it came out:

And I mixed it up with 1/2 plain yogurt, 1/2 mayo.

I don't use the packets, so I can't compare the flavor, but this made a delicious dressing. It had a much fresher taste than the ranch dressing you get at restaurants or from the bottle. And it was incredibly cheap. It was a huge hit with the family, a nice break from the standard vinaigrette.

Verdict: If you ever use ranch dressing, you need to make this and have it on-hand.

Mug Desserts: Red Velvet Mug Cake

Mug desserts seem too good to be true. Five minutes + ingredients I have at home + microwave = delicious warm dessert? It couldn't possibly be that easy.

These quickie one- or two-serving desserts have taken over Pinterest lately. I've pinned a bunch, including this list of recipes from My Happy Place.

I pinned this image, and tested a few of the recipes. This is the first post in a series.

I chose the Red Velvet Mug Cake for my first attempt, mainly because I had all the ingredients. You just mix dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, cocoa powder) with wet ingredients (oil, buttermilk, egg, red food coloring) and nuke for a minute and a half. The buttermilk is easily made by adding some white vinegar to milk and letting it sit a few minutes. Then you make some frosting by whisking butter, cream cheese, and sugar.

I did make one change: I halved the frosting amounts. I wasn't willing to eat 2 tbs each of butter and cream cheese with a half cup of sugar as a mid-day snack.

And it came out.....

...perfect! It was moist, tasty and delicious.

It was also a LOT of cake. I made it again a few nights later, and split it into two servings in little bowls (still 1/2 a frosting recipe). My husband and I had these for dessert after the kids went to bed.

Perfect.

You really need to eat it right away, though, it wouldn't be a good idea to try to make a bunch of these in a row for company or something.

Verdict: I'm now a believer in the potential of single-serving microwave desserts.