I figured out how to make creamy salad dressing at home thanks to an article in “Everyday Food” (my favorite magazine for recipe ideas) last month.

I used their base recipe as a guide and I made up my own dressing. I love it so much and you can use it for way more than just salad.

Green Meanie Dressing:

1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 whole avocado

1 clove of garlic, grated

1 lime zested and juiced

1 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup packed basil leaves

1/3 cup packed chives

1/3 cup packed cilantro

salt and pepper

put all of you ingredients into the food processor and blend until smooth. You can keep it refrigerated for up to two weeks. If you want a thinker dressing, omit 1/2 cup of the buttermilk.

One thing that I have found is that the avocado sometimes oxidizes and will turn the top layer of dressing brown. The lime juice will help prevent this. It did not happen when I only used one avocado, but if you add any more than that to the dressing you might get that brownish top layer. I made it one time using purple basil instead of green basil. The purple actually turned it kind of a brownish hue instead of the pretty green that usually turns out to be… but it still tasted delicious.

It’s not just for lettuce! Try it: on potato salad, as a sandwich spread, as a topping for salmon, an extra condiment on your burger, or as a veggie dip!

Here is some summer chicken salad made with green meanie dressing…