BLT Pasta Salad with Ranch Dressing

Where do salad dressing get their names? Manufacturers come up with new flavors all the time, some consumers like to stick to their longtime favorites in salad dressings. Such as, French, Italian, ranch and Thousand Island.

Ranch dressing actually originated on a ranch, the Hidden Valley Guest Ranch near Santa Barbara, Calif. According to the Hidden Valley Web site, the owners made a dressing with herbs, spices and buttermilk in the 1950s, and the dressing was a hit with their guests. The dressing was sold as a dry mix that you combined with buttermilk and mayonnaise or sour cream. Now, the Hidden Valley brand appears on several varieties of bottled ranch dressing in supermarkets. It's also a popular dip for vegetables or chips. The "ranch" flavor that is added to chips refers to the buttermilk taste that is associated with ranch dressing.

Italian dressing gets its name from the seasonings found in it, basil, garlic and oregano mixed with olive oil and wine vinegar.

French dressing, is apparently an American invention. There are several different recipes for French dressing. Most of them use ketchup, oil, vinegar and paprika. A similar dressing is called Russian, which often has chili sauce as an ingredient.

Thousand Island dressing was named for the Thousand Island region of upstate New York, where the dressing originated. The region, along the St. Lawrence Seaway and Lake Ontario, is a popular spot for fishermen and hunters and for other tourists. The key ingredients in the dressing are mayonnaise and chili sauce, which is made of peppers and tomatoes. The tiny chunks in the dressing are finely chopped pickles, onions, olives and hard cooked egg.

Research Source: How Stuff Works Food

 

Your family will love this easy flavorful pasta salad.

BLT Pasta Salad with Ranch Dressing

Copyrighted 2014, Christine’s Pantry. All rights reserved.

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni

salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup iceberg lettuce, chopped

3 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1/4 cup buttermilk ranch dressing

6 slices bacon cooked to crisp, chopped

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and run under cold water.

In a salad bowl, add cooked pasta, salt, pepper, lettuce, tomatoes and ranch dressing, and toss. Top with cooked bacon. Serve and enjoy!