Category Archives: Lazy Hippy Recipes

Lazy Hippy – Ranch Dressing Recipe

Bonus Content, Lazy Hippy Recipes, nostalgia, ,

I’m going to keep the preamble short, because I know you want to get to the recipe. I just want to briefly explain why I came up with it.

Wingstop opened up a branch near me, and I had a big coupon for delivery, so tried it out. The food was good, I enjoyed it, but what blew me away was their Ranch Dressing Dip. I’ve tried just about every store bought ranch dressing you can get in the UK, and none matched what I remember from the USA.

So I hit Google to find out Wingstop’s secret, and I discovered why it was the taste I remembered. According to some Wingstop employees online, they use Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning, mixed with sour cream, mayo, and buttermilk.

Hidden Valley Ranch is the most popular American brand of ranch seasoning, and it’s stocked in every supermarket there. Here in the UK, it’s a specialist item, and it costs a small fortune. I reckoned I could look at a bunch of recipes online, and synthesise something convincing. So that’s what I did.

Why is it lazy? Because it takes 5 minutes to make, maybe a minute to longer if you include any of the optional ingredients.

First of all, the ratio of sour cream, mayo, and buttermilk was the same in just about every other recipe I saw: 2 parts sour cream, 2 parts mayonnaise, and 1 part buttermilk. The main flavours are garlic, dill, and onion, but I’d worked that part out already, you know, since I’ve had it before. All I did was play around with the ratios, and add a few optional ingredients, one of which is well worth the tiny bit of extra effort. Without further ado, here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

  • 227 grams sour cream (8 fluid oz, or 1 US cup)
  • 227 grams mayonnaise (8 fluid oz, or 1 US cup)
  • 113 grams buttermilk (4 fluid oz, or 1/2 US cup)
  • 1 teaspoon dill
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion granules or onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Juice from 1/4 of a fresh lemon

Combine the sour cream, mayo and buttermilk in a large bowl, and stir. Add all the seasoning, and mix it until well blended. Cover the bowl, or transfer to another container with a lid, and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours, but even better, overnight. I used an old glass jar (see pic). The flavours will meld, and you will end up a very tasty Ranch dressing or dip.

Notes

  • Use real buttermilk. A pint cost me 90p, and you could use the leftover for a 2nd batch of dressing, or fancy buttermilk pancakes. Even scones
  • If you can’t find real buttermilk, allegedly you can make it with normal milk, and some lemon juice. I have not tried it, but the internet has, and says it works as a substitute
  • Onion powder or granules – I had granules to hand, but either would work

Optional ingredients that take it over the top

  • 1/2 clove of fresh garlic – minced. Thought about adding it to the main ingredients, but it makes it slightly less lazy. It’s worth the extra effort, trust me. Yum!
  • Fresh chives – use a pair of scissors to snip them into bits
  • Fresh dill – use scissors again, best way to cut herbs
  • Flavour enhancer – I use slightly less salt, and replace it with a pinch of this. Yes, I mean mono sodium glutamate, or MSG. Don’t believe the lies, MSG is safe, and natural, and it used by chefs, and food manufacturers in many dishes, and products. Start reading ingredients on prepared foods. You’ll find it in most, especially snack foods.

I’ve been having my homemade Ranch Dressing and Dip with Buffalo Chicken burgers, chips, salads, even sliced up carrots and celery. It goes with just about anything. and It tastes amazing!

If you try this out, let me know. I’m all over the internet, and pretty easy to find. 

And don’t forget #HHOTW!

Lazy Hippy – Welsh Rarebit Mac & Cheese

Lazy Hippy Recipes
Lazy, but delicious

I like to cook, but I’ve never posted a recipe before. Don’t worry, there won’t be a lot of preamble, like you get on most internet recipes. You don’t need my life story, just how to cook this delicious dish that I came up with myself. I’ve blended the traditional flavours of Welsh Rarebit, with a classic mac and cheese. It’s really tasty. And you can whip it up in less than an hour, and a good chunk of that time is just waiting around.

I call it “lazy” because I try to keep things simple. I’ll explain more in the notes below. The recipe itself is easily saved to your photo roll, as I’ve done it as screen caps. There are three of them:

Notes:

  1. Neglected to mention another optional ingredient: Cayenne Pepper. Just a pinch or two of you’d like a bit of warmth.
  2. Pasta – Any tube shaped pasta will do. Cook it in salty water. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t have a big bowl to put the strainer in, but it helps.
  3. Béchamel Sauce – I’ve always found it hard to make from scratch, so I use store bought. I told you it was a lazy recipe
  4. Cheese – Mature cheddar is best. And always grate it yourself. Store bought grated cheese has an anti-caking agent to keep it from sticking together, which makes it melt funny. I use a box grater, they’re cheap, and really useful. Some things are worth the extra effort, even if you’re being lazy.
  5. Welsh rarebit flavours – The golden/pale ale, the Worcestershire Sauce, the English Mustard give it that distinctive flavour, but you can experiment. Leave them out for a more traditional mac & cheese. Maybe try some paprika, or cayenne pepper for a bit of a warm kick. Even some dijon mustard would elevate it. Or how about some crispy, smoked streaky bacon, crumbled up into it. Yum. I did really like how my Welsh Rarebit version came out, and would definitely make it again.
  6. Pale Ale – I don’t drink alcohol, but I do cook with it, so I just got the cheapest, smallest bottle of ale I could find. If you prefer not to use alcohol, the dish would still work.
  7. One big pot – Another lazy thing is to just use one pot to cook the pasta, and then use the same pot to make the sauce. It saves up on washing up too. But you could always use two pots, if that’s your preference.
  8. Baking – is actually optional. You could serve it straight from the cooking pot. I do recommend baking it, as it is nicer with melted cheese, and a crisp crust.
  9. Breadcrumbs – I used golden breadcrumbs on mine, as that’s what I had to hand. I would have preferred normal breadcrumbs, and would use them for next time.
  10. Salt – Sea salt is my preference. And if you’ve salted the pasta water enough, the finished dish should only need a pinch or two.
  11. Black Pepper – Freshly ground is so much nicer than pre-ground. It’s worth the extra effort. Not everything has to be lazy.
  12. The finished dish & recipe – I didn’t know this was going to turn out so good, so I did not document the preparation with photos. I did take a couple of photos of the finished dish. Here’s the second one:

Mrs. Hippy is not a huge fan of mac & cheese, but she absolutely loved this one, so I will definitely be making it again. If you make it too, let me know what you think. I’d welcome the feedback!

After a 30 year career as a journalist, working for some of the largest news organisations in the world, including Associated Press and Reuters, and 15 years as a duty news editor for BBC News, Doug – the northlondonhippy is now a full time hippy, and writer. And for the last few years, he’s been #EpilepsyHippy. His life was a whole lot more fun before gaining that new title. For real. 

Doug is also the author of “Personal Use by the northlondonhippy.”   “Personal Use” chronicles Doug’s years of experience with mind altering substances, while calling for urgent drug law reform. It’s a cracking read. You will laugh, you will cry, and you can bet your ass that you will wish you were a hippy too!

If you want even more, (and who wouldn’t?) you could always check out Hippy Highlights – which is the best of the best stuff on the site, and it’s all free to read. What are you waiting for?