Why We Love Our Neighborhood (& My BBQ Sauce Recipe)

Looking at the pictures, you'd think we lived in Pleasantville.  Maybe there is some sort of time warp that sends us back to the 1950's when we enter our neighborhood, I'll have to look into that. This past weekend, we had our 2nd annual neighborhood block party.  Same as last year, we blocked off the four middle houses on our street, lined them with tiki torches, set up tables and lawn games, and a super long buffet filled with everyone's favorite potluck dishes. 

It's always so nice to spend this time getting to know the people that make up our wonderful little neighborhood.  This year, I really enjoyed getting to know some more families in the neighborhood with small children and babies.  Annalyn will have so many little friends to play with in a year or two!





Highlights of the party included: amazing food (which I could actually enjoy this year sans morning sickness!), snow cones, glow sticks, lots of kiddos, and a beautiful July Saturday night.           (future babysitter? I think yes!)

  

I made my blueberry-peach pie, and a french silk pie (by request).  Michael made 18 lbs (yes, pounds not ounces) of pulled pork in his smoker and my homemade BBQ sauce to serve with it.  He tells me his methods are top secret, so for now, I'll just share my BBQ sauce recipe (adapted from the Deen Brothers' BBQ sauce recipe).

Ashley's BBQ Sauce

Ingredients:
-6 c. ketchup
-1 1/2 c. dark brown sugar
-1/3 c. orange juice (fresh squeezed is best, but pre-made works, too)
-2 T. Worcestershire sauce
-1 T. liquid smoke
-1 T. dry mustard
-1 T. cayenne pepper
-1 T. smoked paprika

Directions:

1.  Start by emptying out a large bottle of ketchup (the 64 ounce one).  This will be used to store the BBQ sauce.  I only use 6 cups of ketchup for the recipe so there's room for the extra ingredients to fit in the bottle.

2.  Whisk all ingredients together, then use a funnel or pour from a measuring cup into the empty ketchup bottle.

3.  Enjoy in all your favorite BBQ recipes!  We really like it with this recipe, too.

**Helpful hint - be sure to label the bottle as BBQ sauce since it doesn't look too much different than the ketchup that started in the bottle.

printable recipe