What to do with the end of the bbq sauce...

My friend Kimberly calls these the bottom of the jar recipes.  They are brilliant!  Saturday night I noticed that there was just a bit of bbq sauce left in our squeeze bottle.  It was probably 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup.  In the past I have turned the bottle upside down to get all of the liquid out.  This usually doesn't work.  Sometimes I'll add water to the sauce if a little water will work with the recipe.  This time, I made the recipe in the squeeze bottle.  It worked great!  Every last drop of bbq sauce was gone when I was finished with the marinade.  My only caution is that it works best if you have a funnel.  Surprisingly enough, I found I do not own a funnel.  The next time I visit the dollar store I know what I am investing in. 


Hopefully when Kimberly sees this post, she'll share some of her famous bottom of the jar recipes with us!

Pineapple Pork Chops Marinade
Ingredients:
BBQ Sauce Bottle with about 1/4 Cup left
4 TBSP Pineapple Juice
1/4 Cup Red Wine
1/2 TBSP Minced, Refrigerated Garlic
1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar Salad Dressing
1 TSP Jelly (use grape or a berry jelly)

1. Pour all ingredients into your bbq sauce bottle and shake.

I used this marinade on pork chops.  Let your pork chops sit in the marinade before cooking.  Then either grill or fry your pork chops.  If you grill your chops, continue basting chops with the marinade while cooking.  If you pan fry your chops, after browning both sides, pour marinade on top and let cook covered for another 5 to 10 minutes.  Top chops with a cooked pineapple slice for an added touch of flavor.  You could also use this marinade with chicken or fish.

What to do with cucumbers and tomatoes?

With Spring here and fruit and vegetable stands popping up all over the place, I'm in the mood for some salad.  For the first time ever, I've planted some plants.  Hopefully this summer, we'll have a ton of peppers, lettuce, onions, and raspberries.  Celia and Charlie had a great time helping me plant the seeds.  Now I just have to keep them out of the dirt long enough to let my little plants grow!  Here's a deliciously fresh tasting Balsamic Cucumber Tomato Salad.  I used dried basil, but if you have fresh basil, it will taste even better!

Balsamic Cucumber Tomato Salad
Ingredients:
3 and 1/2 Cups Chopped Tomatoes (I used Roma and Cherry tomatoes)
1 Large Cucumber
1/3 Cup Diced Onion
4 oz Diced Mozzerella Cheese
3/4 TBSP Dried Basil
1 TBSP Minced, Refrigerated Garlic
1 TBSP Honey
2/3 Cup Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
Salt (optional)
Pepper (optional)

1. Chop tomatoes and cucumber.  Put them into a medium-sized bowl.  Dice onion and cut mozzerella cheese into cubes.  Add to bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together basil, garlc, honey and salad dressing.  Pour over salad and stir.
3. Salt and pepper to taste.