Best Way to Dehydrate Chives ~ Homemade Dry Ranch Dressing/Dip Mix

Spring herbs are here!

Store bought chives are expensive. The cost for the above bottle of dried chives was $4.58!  I freeze my chives, but for the dry Ranch mix recipe, I need dehydrated/dried chives.  The bottle above is .12 oz and when ground makes 7 1/2 teaspoons.   It is horribly expensive, and I have managed to kill the indoor chive plant I brought inside.

So....on a mission I went...

 I dehydrated chives many years ago, but did not do my research before hand.  I had snipped them, and placed them on parchment paper in the dehydrator, and they the fan blew them all over the inside.

Here is what I have researched.  

-if you wash your chives, be sure to let they dry or dry them with a towel, or use a vegetable drying pad to let them dry off any water from washing them.  Otherwise, your dehydrator time will be a lot longer.

-do not snip them, keep the the chives whole, and place in the dehydrator.

-do not use a heat higher than 95°F, and dry them for 12-16 hours (mine took closer to the 16 hour mark, and this can vary).  Check your dehydrator for the temperture setting.  My chives are very long and thick, so I used every tray in my dehydrator to avoid cutting them at all.  Also, rotate your trays during they drying time.

Keeping the chives whole, prevents them from moving around too much, and the temperature keeps the flavor retained.

I stored mine in a canning jar, and use a vaccuum seal to remove any extra air.  I also kept them as long as I could, and will grind them only when I need them, to retain flavor.

(the first time making this recipe, I did not have dehydrated chives, so I ground up a teaspoon of dehydrated shallots, and it was very good).

Dry Ranch Dressing Mix 

1/2 cup Cultured Buttermilk Powder

1 Tbsp. homemade garlic powder

1 Tbsp. homemade onion powder

1 tsp.  parsley* (see note below for this and next two ingredients)

1 tsp. dill* 

1 tsp. chives *

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Store in the refrigerator, or if you prefer to store it on a shelf, replace the buttermilk powder with powdered milk.  If stored dry with buttermilk in the fridge, you'll want to use it up in about 2 months.

It will fit in a half pint jar.  I used my canning funnel to fill the jar with ingredients.

*parsley, dill and chives are all dehydrated from the herb garden.

I first used this on chicken for a chicken, wild rice and broccoli casserole.  Years ago, I would just put the bone in chicken in the pan, but this time I cooked the chicken on the stove top, cubed with this ranch dry mix.  It turned out wonderful.

We also used it for a dressing (add what you like), and it's pretty good, and uses less ingredients to make.  It makes a very good dip recipe for vegetables.  We like to blend cottage cheese (vs. sour cream) and add the dry Ranch mix.  So good!

On a side note, I freeze chives as well, for other dishes .  I simply snip, store in freezer bags (flat), or fill freezer containers.  I just take it out, use what I need and put it back into the freezer.  We can enjoy chives in the colder months of winter.  I also freeze some of our green onions with the same process.

Best Way to Dehydrate Chives ~ Homemade Dry Ranch Dressing/Dip Mix© Apr 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

New Salad Recipe Tried

 

I tired another new salad recipe, but we really liked this as a meal itself to be honest.  We love the summer orzo salad we found last year, but this one is a keeper too.  It contains kidney, cannellini, and garbanzo beans.  I do suggest you make it ahead of time, so the beans have time to absorb delish dressing flavors.  I added the fresh herbs upon serving time to avoid them wilting.  I used about  a slightly less cup of about 1/4th, of red onion, but will add more next time.  Red onion is so potent, it's easy to over due it in a salad.

To minimize standing time on my feet (for now anyway), I broke out my new box chopper (bought over a month ago).  I can see why there is a mixed review on these gadgets.  I mean, if you love to cook, slicing and dicing is very thearaputic, but this gadget really sped up the time prepering the salad.

The orignial recipe calls for one red and one green bell pepper.  My husband did the shopping, so I wasn't going to complain about getting a red and yellow one ha ha!  

Imagine your summer grown cucumbers, bell peppers, red onion, fresh herbs from the herb garden (parsely, basil and mint), and a homemade vinagarette.  Delicous.

The orginal recipe is online free, with The Mediterranean Dish.

Note:  The only two things I left out, were the capers (didn't have any), and the 1 teaspoon of sugar in the dressing.  

Tip:  You need a half of a cucumber for the salad, so why not buy an extra cucumber and serve homemade chicken salad on cucumber slices?   You'd use up the other half, and get more sustanence with the meal.  

As for a review on my box chopper, it is not from Amazon. I bought it from a kitchen supply store.  It is built rather nicely, and it came with two different size cutting attachments (these easily remove).  The box unit did not have a mandolin option, as some do.  I most likely will use this for summer salads, but not that often.  It will come in handy.  

New Salad Recipe Tried  © April 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart