Here is a handy tip: I am living in a place where I cannot buy the Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix, and you're right - the bottled stuff is nasty. But my husband loves ranch dressing, so I found a recipe. It is really really good, and you can probably make it from ingredients you have on hand:
RANCH DRESSING
1 clove garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 small red bell pepper, finely minced
2 medium scallions, white and green parts, minced
2 small shallots, minced
1 TBS minced fresh parsley
1 TBS minced fresh cilantro
1 tsp lemon juice
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup buttermilk (make your own by adding a tsp of lemon juice to a cup of fresh milk)
1/2 cup mayo
4 TBS sour cream
Roughly chop the garlic, then sprinkle it with salt. With the flat side of your chef's knife, turn the garlic and salt into a paste.
Mix the garlic paste, bell pepper, scallion, shallot, parsley, cilantro, lemon juice and black pepper together in a medium bowl. Add the buttermilk, mayo and sour cream and whisk until smooth. Makes about a cup and 1/2. Keeps in the fridge a week or so.
I've substituted dried parsley, dried cilantro, even onion salt for the shallot/scallion, and sometimes I leave out the bell pepper. Makes a really tasty dressing.