Feta Ranch Chopped Salad

We have been eating a lot of salads recently.  I think it's all important to get the 5 servings of fruits and veggies we're supposed to get each day, and sometimes that's hard, man.  BUT, even a little side salad has 2 or so servings (1 serving being a cup of veg, give or take), and if you add nuts and cheese and dressing it's like all the food groups coming together so....we all win.  

Jay's a big salad fan too, and I noticed awhile ago that after I'd painstakingly make him a really pretty salad he'd take two knives and just beat the salad to hell so that everything could get mixed together.  Then he'd add a lot of pepper and eat said salad in about 89 seconds, but that's a different behavioral issue.  The point is, the guy likes chopped salads all mixed together with tons of ingredients and sexy dressing, and this is one of our absolute new favorites.  The feta in the dressing was Jay's idea too, and I find that it's PERFECT for a neutral-but-tangy dressing that is really great on any kind of salad.  

For the dressing, you'll need sour cream, half and half, white vinegar, honey, onion powder, feta cheese, dried or fresh dill, and a clove of garlic.  

Now, I like the garlic grated right into the jar for dressing so that it kind of melts into the rest of the dressing.  You can make the dressing in a bowl with a whisk or food processor too, but I like a mason jar for shaking AND storing.  

So, add all the ingredients for the dressing into a jar, grate the garlic right into the mix, shake it up, taste it, add salt if you'd like, and dressing!  Done.  The flavor will be slightly tangier than a regular ranch but shouldn't taste overly like vinegar - add a pinch of salt or another splash of half and half if it does.  

Now, for the salad, it's 100% up to you and what you enjoy - these are just guidelines!  I like to chop everything into small pieces, maybe ½ inch or so, so you get a few different salad elements in each bite.  

To assemble, and you can do this in a large batch or individually, just toss everything you're using into a bowl.  

Drizzle a little dressing into the salad.  

Use tongs to toss the salad (heh), and we're good to go!  Use less dressing than you think you'll need, you can always add more right before serving if you'd like.  

This is a LEGIT chopped salad.  You can do this for a lunch party and let everyone make their own, or for a dinner with some grilled chicken or fish and crusty bread on the side.  

The dressing, though, is obviously what makes it.  It's kiiiiiind of like a blue cheese dip but since we use feta I find that more people like it - blue cheese haters feel very strongly about NOT eating the stuff, and feta is much more mild and appealing to broader audiences.  

New fav salad method, check.