Sweet & Smokey Barbecue Sauce
What a week! I am dead smack in the middle of back to back birthday weekends… what do I mean? Well tomorrow is my oldest daughters 6th birthday… Ève is also having her party on the same day so that means tonight we are having her family birthday dinner. Unlike Audrey who asked for steak, baked potatoes, green beans and corn on the cob (and a Peach-Blueberry pie to top it off with), Ève is a lover of all things pasta. So today means it will be spent in the kitchen since she wants Spaghetti & Meatballs with Cesar salad, cheesy garlic bread, and a Strawberry Chocolate Cake. Simple requests right? HA HA HA HA!
And my house smells like bacon cooking… It’s a good thing I love my kitchen kids. Ha!
Hint: Expect a sappy, tear-fill post about how fast my daughter is growing up tomorrow… because it’s coming… oh yes and a recipe to pair the tears with 😉
I will be sharing all of these great recipes coming up – including the meatballs – but today I wanted to keep with the eat light, and eat right theme I seem to be exuding these days. I made a delicious homemade barbecue sauce that pairs well with lighter meats such as chicken, pork, turkey, etc…
It was inspired after making turkey meatballs one day and realizing I didn’t want to add store-bought sauce over something so good (and healthy).
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 onion finely minced
- 2 cloves of garlic finely minced
- 8oz can of tomato sauce
- 3/4cup ketchup
- 3 tsp liquid smoke
- 2 tsp smokey paprika
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tsp of chilli powder (optional: if you want to make this spicy)
- Over medium heat heat olive oil. Add the onions and garlic. Cook until browned.
- Add the tomato sauce, ketchup and brown sugar. Whisk until completely mixed.
- Add the liquid smoke and paprika (and the chilli powder if using).
- Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat so the sauce simmers for about 30 minutes (or longer if you can).
- Serve along side your favourite meat or top delicious Turkey Meatballs.
Ok, so you’ve heard me mention Turkey Meatballs a few times now right? Well hint hint: that’s the tear stained recipe that’s coming tomorrow! It’s one of Ève’s favourite meals (well any meatball really… with any pasta really… ha ha ha).
How do you celebrate birthdays? Do your kids request anything special for their birthdays?
Better yet: how do you handle your little ones getting older? This Mama still can’t believe she has a 6 year old!! EEK! Ok… time to grab the box of tissues… oh yes and get back to the kitchen!
I love making my own BBQ sauce! Sometimes I don’t have a bottle on hand, so it really helps 🙂
Sweet and smokey barbecue sauce is the best kind! This sounds amazing!
Homemade BBQ Sauce is simply the best. I love this smoky/sweet flavor combo.
This sounds so good – love the depth of flavor in homemade BBQ sauce! Love the addition of liquid smoke too!
BBQ sauce is something that I never buy from the store. There are so many great homemade recipes out there. Like this one! Putting this in the rotation!
BBQ Sauce is a favorite at our house. This recipe sounds perfect for our family. I never thought about making our own. My girls would probably enjoy making their own sauce. Thanks for sharing at Mom-to-Mom Mondays.
I never made homemade barbeque sauce before but your recipe sounds very tasty! I’ll have to try it. Thank you for sharing with us at the Talented Tuesday Link Party!