Saturday, November 10, 2012

Sweet and Zingy BBQ Sauce

Pin It!
Today I had the privilege of helping my dad celebrate his birthday!  I love family gatherings because no matter what stage in life you're in, you always come together and have a good time.  Doesn't it seem like with certain friends it's hard to get together if your life stages to line up?  Yes, with true friends some things never change and it doesn't seem to matter.  But with "convenient" friends, a change in the friendship is bound to happen.  Once you're married, dynamics often change around friends that aren't married.  Once you have kids dynamics usually change around friends around friends without kids.  It's just a part of life.  With my family, on the other hand, this NEVER happens.  They are always absolutely thrilled for each new stage of life that I enter, and I them.

Then there's the food.  I absolutely love food, and it makes it even better to eat it with those I love.  So, tonight, we did exactly that.  We all loaded up to my mom and dad's house, where my mom had prepared an amazing meal.  It was really much more of a feast.  Oh the bountiful goodness of all the food and fun that surrounded us.   

On the menu:

Fruit Salad- cantaloup, honey dew, strawberries, pineapple, grapes
Salad- lettuce, cucumber, carrots, tomatoes with a variety of dressings (I chose olive oil/vinegar)
Broccoli and Carrots- boiled and lightly salted
Parsnips- boiled, cooled, then sauteed with olive oil, salt, and pepper
Coleslaw (Not legal for me, but looked good)
Bread (Again, looked good, but not on my plate)
French Fries (I had just a few)
Chicken- marinated in olive oil/vinegar, garlic and herb seasonings
Baby Back Pork Ribs- cooked to melt-in-your-mouth status in the crockpot, sitting in an this amazing
                Sweet and Zingy BBQ Sauce, with extra on the side to smoother the ribs in.  
Brownies and Ice Cream for dessert (I graciously passed, although they smelled incredible!)

I, perhaps, ate a little too much as we started eating before 6 p.m. and it is now 9:03 and I am sitting her still full to the brim.  But oh goodness.  The sauce was great on the ribs and on the chicken.  It was one of those sauces where it would have been a very sad thing to see even the smallest amount left on the plate.  Every drip really needed to be eaten.  So, I did my duty and soaked up the last of it with some more broccoli, carrots, and parsnips.  What is the recipe for this sauce?  Well, let me first say that my mom is the genius behind this one.  She knows that I love ribs.  She also knows that my hubby doesn't love them as much as I do, so I don't cook them very often.  Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce, although very tasty, is not a good choice of sauces for me to eat.  So, she decided to be amazing and make one up that I could have--on Whole30--and it tasted IN.CRED.I.BLE.  

Without further ado, Mama J's amazing recipe:

Sweet and Zingy BBQ Sauce

1-15 oz. can tomatoes
1-8 oz. can tomato sauce
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 c. onion, diced
3/4 t. paprika
3/4 t. cayenne pepper
2 T. olive oil
2 T. vinegar
1/2 c. diced pineapple
1/2 c. diced apple

Combine all the ingredients and simmer on medium-low for about 30 minutes.  Blend, in a blender or with a handheld immersion blender, until smooth.  Serve over ribs, pulled pork, chicken breasts, chicken wings, or any other meat you would pair with BBQ sauce. Oh, and make sure to enjoy and lick those fingers clean.



No comments:

Post a Comment