BLT Chopped Salad with Homemade Creamy Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

Ingredients

Salad

• 1/2 cup cooked, diced bacon or faux bacon pieces (about 8 strips bacon, cooked to manufacturer's instructions)
• about 3 to 4 cups salad greens
• 1 small/medium ripe tomato, sliced into thin rounds
• half of 1 cucumber, about 10 thinly sliced rounds
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced carrots
• 1/4 cup peas (I used frozen)
• 1/4 cup corn (I used frozen)

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

• 1/2 heaping cup mayonnaise (lite or reduced fat okay)
• 1/2 heaping cup sour cream ((lite or reduced fat okay; plain Greek yogurt may be substituted)
• 1/4 cup buttermilk + extra if necessary to thin
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
• 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 to 2 tablespoon minced fresh green onion, scallions, or chives ( I used 1 trimmed green onion in entirety)
• 1 small garlic clove, peeled, optional and to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste

Directions

Salad - Cook bacon according to manufacturer's instructions. Dice small; set aside.
In a large bowl, add the greens, top with tomato, cucumber, carrots, peas, corn, and sprinkle bacon pieces over the top; set aside.
Buttermilk Ranch Dressing - To the canister of a food processor or blender (mini food processors work great here), add all ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy, about 30 seconds. Taste dressing and if necessary, adjust flavor balance by adding more lemon, oil, herbs, salt and pepper, or whatever dressing needs, to taste. I like my dressing thicker and didn't use more than 1/4 cup buttermilk, but add more, to taste, to thin it out. Brands of mayo, sour cream, and buttermilk all vary in their thickness.
Transfer dressing to a glass jar with lid, or airtight container with a lid.
Drizzle over salad and toss to combine. Serve immediately. Extra dressing will keep for 7 to 10 days airtight in the fridge; shake well before next use.