Creamy Lime-Cilantro Dressing

I found this Creamy Lime-Cilantro Dressing over on Our Best Bites.  I had to make some.  It was super good.  They say it tastes like a Costa Vida/Cafe Rio style dressing.  I've only eaten at Cafe Rio a couple times but can't really tell you if this is what the dressing tastes like.  I know I really liked it and I know I really like this one...so it must be a match!  I stored my leftovers in a quart jar to use on salads later in the week.  Very tasty!  The green salsa does add quite a bit of heat though!  There is a note about the salsa at the end of the recipe.  Put it on any salad, slather it on a burger, serve it with tacos, or dip your chicken fingers in it.  You could probably drink it from the jar if you wanted to.  It's that good!

Creamy Lime-Cilantro Dressing


1 pack (1oz) Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix (regular or buttermilk, and ignore directions on the packet)
1C mayo
1/2 C milk (or buttermilk depending on which packet you buy)
1 lime
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro
1/4 C green salsa*
hot sauce

 Place milk, mayo, and ranch mix in a blender.   Juice the lime in there too, you should get about 2T juice.  Toss in the garlic, cilantro and green salsa.  Blend 'er up.  Sample it and add hot sauce to taste.  Make it several hours ahead of time to allow it to thicken.

*A note about green salsa:
There are several brands of green salsa available in most supermarkets and they have various degrees of heat.  One of the most commonly seen brands is Herdez. Herdez brand is a lot spicier than any of the others I've tried.  Even their medium green salsa is way too spicy for my liking.  I like to buy La Costena because their  medium is actually really mild.  That way I get all of the flavor of the tomatillos but I control the level of heat with the hot sauce.  If you're not used to buying green salsa, make sure to sample it first before you put it in the dressing so you know what you're getting into!