Try this one out on your family (Shhhh! Don’t tell them what’s in it). They will fall in love with it and your cottage cheese haters will be shocked. I tried making this with a regular blender but my husband did not like it because the texture was not creamy enough. Not so with the Vitamix. I pack about a tablespoon of it in a small container and put it in his lunch with garden fresh veggies.

1 cup low fat cottage cheese
½ cup milk
½ cup mayonnaise
1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix

1. Place cottage cheese and milk into the Vitamix container and secure lid.
2. Select Variable 1.
3. Turn machine on and increase speed to Variable 10.
4. Blend for 10 seconds or until smooth.
5. Remove lid and add mayonnaise and ranch dressing mix.
6. Secure lid and select Variable 1.
7. Turn machine on and increase speed to Variable 6.
8. Blend 10 seconds or until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
9. Pour into a 3 cup container and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Food tip: Using cottage cheese to replace a portion of the milk and mayonnaise reduces fat while adding calcium and protein. The cottage cheese also thickens the dressing to make it perfect for dipping vegetables instead of using sour cream. To use as a salad dressing, add enough milk to reach the desired consistency. For thicker vegetable dip use 2/3 cup of mayonnaise and 1/3 cup of milk. You can make this recipe with just cottage or a combination of cottage cheese and milk but, if you are looking for the traditional tang of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing, you will want to use the mayonnaise.

Time Tip: When using the Vitamix this dressing takes about 5 minutes start to finish.

Money Tip: Hidden Valley has a 3.75oz container of this dressing mix. It is always cheaper than the individual packages and keeps well for months in the cupboard. Cottage cheese can also be bought in larger containers for a lower price and can be used in a variety of recipes to replace whole milk, cream or half and half.