Bacon Ranch Lettuce Wedge Salad

Salad. Is it something you usually incorporate with your meals? I could probably do a better job having a green salad on a more regular basis. But I do have some specific salad favorites. One of them is a lettuce wedge salad. A crisp iceberg lettuce wedge is topped with chopped roma tomatoes, crumbled blue cheese and for a slight twist, a bacon ranch blue cheese dressing come together to make this Bacon Ranch Lettuce Wedge Salad...

It's been great sharing my foodie faves with The Baron. Part of the reason why it's been so fun is because it's easy to do since we tend to like the same things. One of those things we both like is blue cheese. In fact, it's our favorite cheese! This salad is the perfect way to highlight blue cheese because it's used as part of the salad itself and the dressing.

One ingredient that works really well with blue cheese is bacon, which is why I incorporated crumbled bacon in the dressing. And to add some zing, I added a touch of ranch dressing mix for another twist. Overall, it's a delicious dressing that ties everything together... and you just might be encouraged to eat more salad more often!

In fact, this salad was one of the ways I enjoyed salad when I was younger. The idea of having a wedge of salad versus a serving of chopped greens seemed more interesting. For Joel, he had a mini wedge the other day with ranch dressing for a kid-friendly version. I was surprised that he seemed to like the way it was presented and he even helped me cut it up.

Speaking of kids, please check out Lunch Break for Kids, a national fundraiser (October 15-19) highlighting ways for parents and kids to come together with chefs and schools to learn more about how simple, good food can make healthier bodies and stronger family connections. Hidden Valley Ranch could use your help to support the program and childhood nutrition education!

Bacon Ranch Lettuce Wedge Salad
recipe adapted from AllRecipes

Dressing:
1/2 pound crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup crumbled bacon
1/2 tablespoon Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
ground black pepper to taste

Salad:
1 head iceberg lettuce, cut into 8 wedges
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 pound crumbled blue cheese


Combine 1/2 pound blue cheese, sour cream, buttermilk, mayonnaise, vinegar, olive oil, sugar, garlic, ranch dressing mix and pepper in a bowl; blend using a hand mixer; chill until serving.

Build the salad by placing 1 lettuce wedge on each of 8 plates. Drizzle equal amounts of dressing over each wedge. Scatter tomatoes, onion, and 1/2 pound blue cheese over each salad.

The Hidden Valley® Original Ranch®, dressings & dips has provided me with free product
to help with my review, but anything I receive from Hidden Valley
 does not affect my thoughts on its company or their product.