Homemade Ready

In my mind, succotash is kind of an old fashioned dish. It was popular in our grandparents' generation (especially if your grandparents lived in the Northeast U.S. or parts of the South), but doesn’t seem to make much of an appearance on menus today. It was also a popular dish during the Great Depression because it was cheap and made from common ingredients (just the kind of thing we like around here). Its simple goodness of is exactly what makes it a perfect side for a family meal. I like to make it as an easy side dish full of fresh, summer vegetables, and topped with a little bit of bacon, just to make it extra good. (It's also great for holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas). There are actually many versions of succotash, but because of its Native American origins, it almost always includes two vegetables native to the Americas – corn and lima beans. Now, I know that the first inclination may be to dismiss this recipe because of those (oft-dreaded) lima beans, but ...

Back when I first started cooking from scratch, it came as a revelation to me that I could make my own homemade ranch dressing from scratch (without even opening a packet of that well-known seasoning mix!) Before this realization, it had never actually occurred to me that this tasty concoction could be made using various combinations of simple ingredients like mayonnaise, buttermilk, milk, sour cream and/or yogurt. Add in some herbs and seasonings, and a little lemon juice or vinegar, and there you have it - ranch dressing! Over the years, I have played with the recipe, based on what I like, and also based on ingredients I typically have on hand. With my herb garden growing full-blast right now, I thought it would be a good time to whip up a batch. For this recipe, I used my batch of ranch dressing to dress a simple salad of lettuce, tomato, and turkey bacon, tossed with a few homemade croutons and a tiny bit of thinly sliced red onions. This salad is great for a light meal...