Foodie Friday ~ Easy and Tasty BBQ Sauce

I love to cook. And I love to eat. I don't like to spend a lot of money on good food. Sometimes that's not so easy. The price of food is going up . . . way up. Besides that, I don't like to eat a whole lot of processed foods or foods with a lot of preservatives in them.

Well, long story short, I decided I wanted to try my hand at making BBQ sauce. Some that I could put in a jar for future use. I found a recipe in The Everything Slow Cooker Cookbook and decided to try it. I modified it a bit and my family (and our guests) loved it!!

Worcestershire sauce and pepper not pictured . . . LOL!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups ketchup (original calls for 2 cups)

1 8oz can tomato paste (subbed for other 1/2 cup ketchup)

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

2 Tbsp molasses

2 Tbsp prepared mustard

1 Tbsp BBQ seasoning (I think I doubled this)

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tsp liquid smoke (I doubled this too)

1 Tbsp hot sauce (I doubled this too)

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a slow cooker. Mix well. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook, uncovered for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Store in covered container in fridge for up to 3 months.

I'm sure you could do this on the stove top as well, but this worked great for me. The original recipe called for 2 cups of ketchup and no tomato paste, but I've read lots about homemade sauces being a little on the thin side. I like a thicker sauce, so I experimented with it . . . it turned out great! Hope y'all enjoy! (One day I'd love to learn how to make some of the ingredients for this sauce . . . hmmmmm.)

It actually made 3 jars, but we've already used one! :)

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” Luke 9:23-24