In my cooking rut the other day, I decided to try something new that sounded somewhat crazy: BBQ spaghetti. I had seen it while in Memphis and also watched The Neelys make it on their show, and I figured my mom's BBQ sauce is so damn delicious that it was worth a shot. It was really rich, so I could only eat small portions at a time, but I'm going to consider that a good thing. The BBQ sauce takes the longest to make, so I made that the night before, as well as the potato salad. Then, when I was ready to eat, I simply cooked the pasta and meat and dug in! Here's the deal:

For BBQ Sauce:
1 medium white onion
2 tbsp. butter
2-3 cloves of garlic (depending on preference and size)
Large bottle of Ketchup (that super-large one)
1/2 c. White Vinegar (cider vinegar works here too)
1 1/2 tbsp. dry Mustard powder (if you don't have this, you can use two tbsp. of yellow mustard)
1 small box of brown sugar
2 12 oz. cans of lite beer
1 small can of tomato sauce or paste
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
Large dash of Worcestershire sauce

Add chopped onion, garlic, vinegar and butter to large pot and cook until onions are translucent and soft (be sure not to burn the garlic.) Add mustard and entire bottle of ketchup, then brown sugar. Stir and let cook for about 10 minutes, then add beer, salt, pepper, cayenne and Worcestershire sauce. (I added one can of beer and it was fine, but two probably would've been better. This is up to you.) If sauce is thin, add tomato sauce/paste. If not, leave it out.
You may need more sugar depending on whether the sauce is too vinegary. This varies depending on how long you let the vinegar cook out at the beginning. Just taste and see, and if it isn't sweet enough, add granulated white sugar.
Cook for an hour to an hour and a half, stirring often. Be careful not to let it bubble too much or burn.
This recipe makes A LOT of sauce. You can keep the sauce in the refrigerator for about a week or two, but it freezes really well. Then, when you want to defrost some, you can simply spoon out what you need and microwave it. YUM!

For Spaghetti:
3 cups BBQ sauce
Pam cooking spray
1 lb. spaghetti
1 tbsp garlic
Salt, pepper
1 lb. ground pork (or chicken would work great too!)
1 med. onion, chopped

Cook spaghetti as directed to al dente. Spray bottom of nonstick pan with Pam and brown onions. Add garlic, ground pork (or chicken) and brown, adding salt and pepper. If you have BBQ seasoning, now would be a good time to throw some of that in too. Once meat is fully cooked, drain off excess fat. Add BBQ sauce and stir until warm. Drain pasta and add straight to skillet, mixing everything together. ENJOY!