Easy Homemade BBQ Sauce

I was looking to cook some boneless beef ribs the other evening and thought I would give my great-grandma’s recipe a spin. (Well, the version my Dad relayed to me one night after a couple of margaritas.) But, alas, I didn’t have all of the ingredients on hand. I was also out of bottled bbq sauce. You can see the level of planning that was going into this enterprise, can’t ya? I figured I would just whip up some homemade sauce and cook the ribs in a pan on my Big Green Egg. I was in the mood to take it easy, as the Eagles would say.

Well, the ribs turned out just meh — nothing to write home about. But the sauce rocked. Like, I’m-gonna-go-get-more-and-sop-it-up-with-some-bread good. So here, sweetie, is the easy recipe…

Homemade BBQ Sauce

Mix together: 1 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp molasses, 1 tbsp yellow mustard, and 1 tbsp garlic powder.

Use in place of bottled bbq sauce in your favorite recipes and be prepared for some praise. You deserve it.

Maple-Mustard Brussels Sprouts

I have been a bit cuckoo crazy for Brussels sprouts lately. Which means I keep finding great ways to eat them. And, of course, I must share these new recipes with anyone who will listen. (Or, in your case my friend, read about them.) I’ll keep this short and oh-so-sweet.

The other evening I wanted to make grilled Brussels sprouts again. But I always feel like I need to tinker around and try something new.  It being fall (well, everywhere but Texas — where we are still seeing temps in the 80’s,) I had some classic fall flavors on my mind — maple and mustard. A quick peek in the fridge confirmed I had some whole grain mustard left and I was off and rolling…

In terms of the Brussels sprouts, you can follow the prep and grilling instructions supplied in this previous post. While your li’l sprouts are cooking up, just whisk together 1/3 cup pure maple syrup (none of that Aunt Jemima stuff here) and a heaping tablespoon of whole grain mustard.

Once your sprouts are nice and charred a bit, remove them from the heat and pour into a bowl. Drizzle with your maple-mustard sauce and toss it all together. Mmmmm, mmmm…

Super easy and perfect for a quick dinner or something a bit fancier.