Sunday Supper - Barbecue Sauce

If it ever stops raining, we will have barbecued chicken on the grill for supper.  Mike loves to grill in the cold weather.  I don't understand it because he's not a huge fan of being outside in the cold but...  One of his favorite winter activities is standing out on the deck, grilling in a blizzard. 

And when Mike cooks our barbecued chicken on the grill, he will use homemade barbecue sauce.  I stumbled across this recipe five or ten years ago.  I made a few modifications to the original recipe and we've been using it almost exclusively ever since.  

Spicy Barbecue Sauce

2 cups apple cider vinegar
7 or 8 Tbsp. lemon juice (I count 7 and don't worry if I splash a little extra)
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups (1 quart) ketchup
1/2 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
3 Tbs. mustard  (I prefer yellow but any mustard works)
2 Tbs. salt
3/4 Tbs black pepper
Tabasco sauce to taste (I use 4 or 5 shakes of the bottle)

Mix the vinegar, lemon juice and sugar in a large sauce pot and bring to a boil. 
Add remaining ingredients and boil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Pour hot sauce into glass storage containers and seal.  Once cooled, refrigerate until needed.


The recipe makes about six cups of sauce.  I usually store mine in pint or quart sized Mason jars.  It lasts almost forever in the refrigerator and the recipe is easy enough to make even when you only need a little bit.

Besides the joy of having Mike cook dinner for me...  Today's joy feature is,

candy canes

Candy canes.  

Really, I'm not still rambling on about Christmas.  I just have a thing for candy canes.  I buy tons of extra boxes of them each year.  Several years ago I discovered that when I go on a health kick and decide to quit eating junk food and/or desert ("desert" meaning an entire giant bag of M&Ms or the entire pan of brownies....) I can eat a candy cane after dinner and be fine.  No late night sugar or salty food cravings.  And while I realize the candy cane is basically pure sugar, it's a lot less sugar than an entire giant bag of M&Ms.  And after a week or two of eating a full sized candy cane, I can cut it down to half a candy cane without withdrawal symptoms.  In other words, candy canes are my go-to health/diet food.  And they bring me joy!