I am a southerner so barbecue is just a way of life for me! There are as many great BBQ sauces as there are cooks; everybody has their favorite sauce plus every region has a different way of preparing their sauces. I grew up with tomato based sauces and they are still my favorites.

I have selected a few BBQ sauce recipes for you to try from the Southern Living 'myrecipes' collection. I picked a recipe for quick, easy, and make-ahead - you make the call! They are all wonderful and will be the hit if your Memorial Day celebration.

Quick

Four-Alarm Barbecue Sauce

This sticky sauce is better for dipping than basting, since its sugars will cause food to stick to the grill. Try it with shrimp or use it as a table sauce to pour over your grilled food.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons canola oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup bottled chili sauce
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon chipolte chile powder
1 teaspoon ground ancho chile pepper
1 12-oz can cola
jalapeno pepper, chopped

Directions

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add onion and garlic and cook 2 minutes or until onion is tender.
Add 3/4 cup water and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer until reduced to 1 1/2 cups (about 12 minutes).
Place half of chili sauce mixture in a blender and process until smooth. Pour mixture into bowl or container.
Repeat procedure with remaining chili sauce.
Southern Living, JUNE 2006
Easy

Thick and Robust Barbeque Sauce

This is a delicious sauce - thick, tomatoey, and sweet with just a hint of hot.

Ingredients

3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup chili sauce
2 Tablespoons chopped onion
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
Dash of ground red pepper

Directions

Stir together all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to boil.
Reduce heat and simmer 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Divide sauce into separate containers for basting and serving at the table. Basting sauce brushed on raw food should not be used as a table sauce.
Discard any remaining basting sauce when meat is cooked.
Refrigerate remaining table sauce for future use.
Makes 1 1/4 cups sauce.
Southern Living, NOVEMBER 2003

Make-Ahead

Baby Loin Back Ribs

This make-ahead recipe does take time but it is so worth it! Once you have made the rub and sauces, you can store them in your fridge for use all summer long. The sauce is intended for ribs but will work equally well on any meat.

The work plan:

Prepare the Basting Sauce and let stand at least 8 hours.
Prepare the Rub, spread on ribs, cover and store in fridge at least 3 hours.
Prepare the sweet sauce.
Grill the ribs on a covered grill using medium heat (300 - 350 degrees) for 2 to 2 1/2 hours basting with the Basting Sauce every 30 minutes. Turn the ribs occasionally.
Brush ribs with the Sweet Sauce the last 30 minutes of grilling time.
Basting Sauce
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 cups red wine vinegar
2 cups water
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1 small bay leaf

Stir together all ingredients in a small jar, cover and let stand 8 hours. Remove bay leaf.

Rub

3 Tablespoons paprika
2 teaspoons seasoned salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Combine all ingredients in a bowl or small container.

Sweet Sauce

1 cup ketchup
1 cup red wine vinegar 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1/2 cup spicy honey mustard
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons hot sauce
1 Tablespoon seasoned salt
1 Tablespoon paprika
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Bring all ingredients to a boil in a Dutch oven. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Southern Living, May 2001

These and other recipes can be found at MomsMealConnection.com. MomsMealConnection is designed to help busy moms everywhere prepare meals - family meals, holiday celebrations, and special dinners plus entertaining - through recipe and meal planning links. Most of the links are fast, fun, and free to use. Who has time to waste searching endlessly through the web? Certainly not us moms!

I am the mother of five grown children who are now starting families of their own so to say that I have 'been there, done that' is an understatement! My trick is to plan weekly menus and grocery shop only once per week. I am a firm believer that once-a-week meal planning and grocery shopping saves a lot of time and money! We can all use more of those commodities.

I sincerely hope you have fun with your meal planning and preparation,

Elizabeth Randall and Family