Hidden Valley Ranch Feast Review

I am part of the Crowdtap Community and was accepted into the 2nd Annual Hidden Valley® Ranch Feast Hosted Party event and was given things to try for free. When people think of Hidden Valley® Original Ranch®, most usually think of salads and salad dressing, but Hidden Valley® Ranch is so much more than that! It is an easy way to put a twist on mealtime, with delicious dishes that everyone will love. I was like most people and never thought I could make a delicious meal out of Ranch or Hidden Valley's® seasoning mix but I was SO wrong! 

On Crowdtap it says that provided with the kit are:
1 Bottle of Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Dressing
1 Dip Clip (for you)
5 Dip Clip (for guests)
3 Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Dressing & Seasoning Mix (for you to make 3 recipes)
3 Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Dressing & Seasoning Mix

Here's what I actually got:
1 Bottle of Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Dressing
1 Dip Clip (for me)
10 Dip Clip (for guests)
13 Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Dressing & Seasoning Mix
10 Recipe cards (front in English and back in Spanish)
11 Save $1.00 on any (1) Hidden Valley® Dry Dressing or Dips Mix coupons to share with guests 
1 Size large Team Ranch T-shirt (for me)

I think I made out pretty good if you ask me! ^_^ 

I was to host a party and share recipe tips and ideas, and enjoy a variety of dishes made with Hidden Valley products. Sounded good to me except one problem. My guests were no shows!! (I will not mention names but you know who you are). I understand the weather was icky as it tends to get here in Philadelphia but a heads up would have been nice. Nonetheless my family enjoyed the recipes I prepared for them. I turned it into a family gathering party and we still enjoyed ourselves and completed the activities outlined by the mission from Hidden Valley® via Crowdtap. 

I made three recipes all with the Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Dressing & Seasoning Mixes. I made Grilled Ranch Chicken with Corn Salsa, Original Ranch® Roasted potatoes and Hidden Valley® Glazed Baby Carrots. I prepared the meals as instructed per the recipes. I did not want to alter the recipes because I wanted to taste for myself how good these were going to turn out. Later I can alter the recipes or make something else delicious but for now I stuck to what was in front of me. I went to Walmart and bought the rest of the items I needed for the recipes and started to cook. (I am in no way affiliated with Walmart, it was just a convenient place to go to get the items I needed). The recipes were very simple to follow (I did not break a sweat!). It was too cold for my liking to grill outside so I turned on my indoor grill. I put the potatoes in the oven for about 40 minutes at 450 degrees and proceeded to my carrots which only took about 5 minutes to cook. I, however, left them on just a little longer on low heat (glad I did because the Ranch mix began to get thick like a gravy). As the carrots were heating up I put the chicken on the grill and discarded any remaining marinade that was left over. I grilled the chicken for about 5-7 minutes on each side making sure that I didn't touch the chicken during this time so they could achieve the grill marks on them ^_^

Started the chicken marinade and let stand for 30 minutes or so

Next I worked on the potatoes and put them in the oven for about 40 minutes in a 450 degree oven 

Then I put the carrots in the pan and let on low  stirring occasionally while  I finished the chicken  

Put the chicken on the indoor grill for 5-7 minutes each side

Making sure to leave alone during that time so the chicken achieves the grill marks

Didn't forget about the Corn Salsa which took less than 5 minutes to prepare (Super easy!)

It was now time to eat. Everyone served themselves and we sat down to eat. Everything was so delicious! I am a great cook (Not to brag or anything; you know, we are all biased on our cooking and think we are the best LOL), but really the food turned out terrific!

 It was all so delicious and the food did not taste similar. I thought it would because all the recipes called for a packet of Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Dressing & Seasoning Mix. Thankfully though, all the recipes had their distinct taste and it all turned out for the best. One of my favorites was the Corn Salsa. It was so refreshing to have a packet of Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Dressing & Seasoning Mix without it tasting overwhelming. It was just the right amount of kick of flavor and it went so well with the chicken. I can see myself making this salsa on a regular basis for my other recipe favorites. Very tasty! After we ate we completed the activities assigned to this party. 

Activity #1:
Poll your guests on their knowledge and love for Ranch. 
1. Have they ever used a Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® product in a recipe before?
2. Did they like the the Hidden Valley® dishes served today? 
3. Will they purchase Hidden Vakkey® products in the future?

1. No one in my household has ever used Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® in any recipe ever. They weren't even aware that this was possible. (LOL)
2. They liked all the recipes I had prepared for them. They especially liked that although I made all three recipes with the packets, that all the recipes tasted different. They were afraid that all the food was going to taste the same, but thankfully it didn't. They especially liked that the corn salsa had a dry packet in it and they liked the taste it yielded. All of the food was delicious and spectacular if I may add.  
3. They are definitely open to buying Hidden Valley® products in the future. In fact I told them that they could probably purchase the products in Walmart (which we like to frequent; I remember seeing these ingredients there) and they were happy about that. 

Activity #2:
Using the Ranch dishes you've shared ad tasted as inspiration, have a group write down as many recipes/foods they can think of that will be even more delicious with a zest of Ranch. After the allotted time (we suggest 60 seconds), share your ideas (there's no idea too whacky!) and vote on the top ten. 

Here is what we came up with as out top 10 delicious dishes with Ranch:
1. Lasagna 
2. Chicken Parmesan 
3. Ranch Potato Salad
4. Cheese burgers (incorporate the Ranch in the meat mix)
5. Oven cooked French fries (add the mix with the fries and pop into oven and add cheese) YUM!
6. Popcorn (incorporate the mix in the popcorn and drizzle with favorite topping such as salt, butter, honey, etc.
7. Creamy Ranch Mashed Potatoes 
8. Ranch Taco Dip 
9. Ranch Mac & Cheese
10. Ranch Pasta Salad

I am convinced that I will continue to make more yummy recipes with Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Dressing & Seasoning Mixes. the mixes added great taste and depth to my food. It is definitely worth trying at least once. Thank you Crowdtap and Hidden Valley®  for this great experience! We had a blast! 

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