Sister's Barbecue Sauce

A Rerun of my very first blog post ever! :-)  It was first posted in February of 2009, but I'm not sure of the exact date now.  I had a flub on this the other day as I tried to schedule it for today, but it went ahead and posted itself because it was an already existing post.  Oops.  So, those who follow by email may be seeing this for the second time.  (Rerunning old posts is one way to keep things active here while my computer is being treated for various mysterious illnesses.)

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My sister altered a barbecue sauce recipe once and improved it. Last week she called me and wanted to know if I could send her the recipe since she had managed to bury her copy in their store room. I knew just how she felt since a lot of my own things are still in boxes in the garage waiting to be unpacked! Anyway, I typed it into email for her, and so it seemed like a good recipe to start with on this new venture! Hope you enjoy it. (And remember, don't be afraid to make your own adjustments to suit your taste.)

Barbecue Sauce

1 C ketchup

2 Tbl. cider vinegar
3/4 C & 1 Tbl. packed brown sugar*
2 tsp. prepared mustard
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 C water

Combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaf. Can be stored in fridge for 2-3 months.

*Use more or less sugar to your liking.

This sauce is good with beef, pork, and chicken. It would also be good on burgers or fried potatoes.

Barbecue Sauce Sweet Potato Chicken

I discovered that sweet potatoes taste very good cooked with meat.  I have cooked them with pieces of beef roast or steak, but here I cooked them with chicken breast.
This is one of those seat of pants recipes where I don’t have an exact recipe.  But, here’s the basic idea.
I cut the chicken breast in chunks, and probably cooked it by itself in oil a few minutes before adding the sweet potato chunks, adding water as needed to keep it moist and not burning.  I sprinkled them with onion powder and maybe a little garlic powder too, and added salt to my taste.  Then I covered them with barbecue sauce (and maybe added a teaspoon or so of brown sugar to sweeten it up if it was too sour) and cooked till done.  (This would also be good with pork, I think.)
I hope you try this out and enjoy it.  It was delicious! :-)  Try cooking sweet potatoes with beef too.  I suggest adding the sweet potato chunks a little after the meat has started cooking.  You don’t have to use the barbecue sauce with beef as it has a good flavor with just the sweet potatoes and some garlic and onion.