Ham and Cheese Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing

Ingredients

2 cups shredded or cubed ham*

4 large eggs, hard boiled, peeled and sliced

24 oz. iceberg lettuce blend

3/4 cup (3 oz) mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup (3 oz) medium or mild cheddar cheese

Homemade ranch dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used 1/4 cup light 1/4 cup regular)

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup buttermilk, then more as needed

2 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp)

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp salt**

Directions

For the ranch dressing:

Whisk together all dressing ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Add additional buttermilk if needed 1 Tbsp at a time to reach desired consistency (it should be somewhat thick, not very runny). Store in an airtight container in refrigeratr.

For the salad:

Divide lettuce among 4 large salad bowls. Top with ham and cheese. Add one sliced egg to each salad. Drizzle with ranch and serve immediately after adding dressing.

*My favorite way which I normally always make this salad is to chop the ham up into tiny pieces in a food processor, it really just tastes better this way. I chop a leftover baked ham (not honey glazed, just a regular picnic ham) into chunks or slices then toss into a food processor in batches and pulse until it's evenly shredded up into small bits. If you don't have a food processor you can slice it into tiny cubes like that pictured.

**If you are making this ranch for a different kind of salad you may want more salt, for this one I don't recommend adding much more salt because the ham is already plenty salty. Also if you are making if for a different kind of salad you may want to add in 1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh dill (which I do sometimes). I just didn't like the dill with this specific salad I tried it with and without and liked it much better without here.