Every now and then a good salad needs a great dressing. This Chipotle Southwest Ranch Dressing is that dressing. It’s that good.

Highs and lows come quick in the active life I’m living these days. Though really it’s all highs to some point as I would have never imagined myself competing twice for anything in one weekend unless it involved shoving past kids for a giant chocolate chip cookie. I could totally do that twice in one weekend. Or maybe I just really want a cookie as I sit coming down off of the endorphin high from the weekend and think that everything sounds pretty tasty…

I probably need more salad. I even envisioned this post being about how I made my own salad dressing and had an incredibly healthy weekend of good clean food. But I didn’t use the Chipotle Southwest Ranch Dressing this weekend. After pushing my body up and down hills I turned to something a little more meaty. But it tastes great. Maybe I’ll use it on a salad tomorrow…

This weekend I ran a fun little 5k on Friday night and (unless someone can prove me otherwise) I was the first female across the line at 26 minutes, to which I am happy with (though some life time runners quickly put me in my place). We headed out for the evening and up early the next morning to stretch the legs for a 7 mile ride. I gorged at Hempon Hill Barbecue and headed to bed for our race in the morning – which by the way was freezing (Dear Mother Nature, we need to talk).

(I ate like a Fat Kid)

I finished second in my category, which would totally be worth gloating over if there had been more than two girls in my group… one being myself. However, as the course was a good climb and terrain I wasn’t used to, I’m happy with my time and proud of myself for sticking through it. I could have left out the whole 2 out of 2 thing, but I’m hoping that’s the sort of thing I’ll look back on and laugh at.

We had a blast all weekend long, but I can tell you on the three hour ride home, I was ready to sleep. And sleep I shall.

What is a Chipotle?

Is it a pepper? Or just a taco stand? A Chipotle is not actually a variety of pepper. It is a Jalapeño that has been smoked until it is dry. The green jalapeños that you are used to seeing in the store and on your nachos are not actually ripe. When the pepper ripens, it turns red in color, and won’t last nearly as long in your refrigerator. But if you leave them on the vine until they redden, then smoke them, you’ve got something special. I love smoking anything and everything, and maybe the next time I make this salad dressing I’ll have to throw some peppers on the smoker and make my own Chipotles first.

Now, for the Chipotle Southwest Ranch Dressing

Hard to believe, but when I’m not avoiding them, I do occasionally make a mean salad. Check these out!

Spinach & Steak Salad
Quick Dinner Fixins: Taco Salad
Italian Hoagie Salad

If you’ve tried my Chipotle Southwest Ranch Dressing recipe or any other recipe on passthesushi.com please don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know where you found it in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also follow along for more good eats and travel tips on Instagram @passthesushi & @girlcarnivore, Twitter & Facebook.

Chipotle Southwest Ranch Dressing

Yield: 1 recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ok, so this isn’t a salad – but every now and then a good salad needs a great dressing.

Print

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 2 tsp lime juice
• handful fresh cilantro
• 1/2 tsp honey
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

1. In a food processor, pulse the chipotle peppers and garlic until finely minced.
2. Add the buttermilk, mayo, lime juice, cilantro, honey and salt. Pulse until smooth.
3. Scrape down sides and pulse a few more times, just to make sure everything was mixed well.

Notes

from Food Network Magazine April 2013

Recommended Products

• 
  Goya Pepper Chiles Chipotle 7 Ounce (pack of 4)
• 
  Anchor Hocking 980R Presence Cruet With Stopper
• 
  Wildflower Raw Honey by Beekeeper's Naturals | 500g of 100% Pure Sustainably Sourced Enzymatic Honey | Gluten Free and Paleo Friendly

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 85 Total Fat: 8g Saturated Fat: 1g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 7g Cholesterol: 5mg Sodium: 161mg Carbohydrates: 2g Fiber: 0g Sugar: 1g Protein: 1g

Nutrition information provided is an estimate from nutritionix.com. For specific health concerns, please put the recipe into your Dr recommended nutrition calculator.