BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

One of my husband's new favorite meals is BBQ chicken sandwiches with homemade BBQ sauce.  In the past, I had made these with bottled BBQ sauce, but after a while, they just didn't taste good anymore.  Maybe if I had used a different BBQ sauce, we would have liked them better, but I wasn't willing to spend the money (or time) to try making it with different sauces (and risk wasting the food if it wasn't to our liking).  This sauce seems to have a lighter taste than many of the bottled sauces we've tried, so it's not so overpowering in the sandwiches. 

Let me tell you a little secret about my husband: 9 times out of 10, he prefers store-bought over homemade.  When he asked me what kind of BBQ sauce I used, I told him that I'd tell him after dinner - I didn't want the fact that it was homemade to sway his opinion.  Well, he loved it (and so did I) even after he found out it was a homemade sauce!  I'm happy to say that BBQ chicken sandwiches are now back on our regular menu rotation!  I love these because they're really easy.  Additionally, you can make a lot of sauce at once and just freeze it!

BBQ Sauce
1 cup ketchup
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
2 Tbsp hickory flavor liquid smoke
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Taste and adjust vinegar and brown sugar until desired sweetness or tangyness (I think I just made up that word) is reached.  I ended up adding a little extra brown sugar since we like our sauce to be a little sweeter.  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10-20 minutes, depending on desired thickness.  The longer the sauce simmers, the thicker it will become. 

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
1 to 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 large onion, chopped
1.5 to 2 cups barbecue sauce
Hamburger or sandwich buns

Place chicken and onions in slow cooker.  Cover with barbecue sauce.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.  Once chicken is cooked through, remove from slow cooker and shred.  Place chicken back in the slow cooker and stir to cover chicken in sauce.

Under broiler or in a toaster oven, toast the buns.  Place chicken on buns, along with other desired toppings.  I like red onions on mine; my husband likes his plain.  Both the sauce and the cooked chicken are freezable.