Food for your Itty Bitty: Pasta Salad & Stewed Zucchini

One of my favorite things is BBQ chicken. And my husband made BBQ chicken list night! It was even more exciting due to the fact that on this day, Delilah had BBQ chicken for the first time! She loved it!

He uses a number of different spices and smokes it pretty much all day. I would't even know where to begin on how he does it, maybe he will post a recipe one day! I could, however, make the side dishes. On the menu tonight: BBQ chicken, stewed zucchini, and pasta salad.

We will start with the pasta salad. I have made the same pasta salad for years, only I usually use spaghetti, but this time around I used the spirals to make it baby friendly :)

Boil the water and add 1/2 of the box of pasta. Cook for about 12 minutes, once again, we are making it baby friendly. Drain and put in bowl.

While the pasta is cooking, cut up 1/2 can of black olives into little bite sized pieces. Adding roasted red peppers at this point is delicious as well :)

Add the olives, mayonnaise, your favorite italian dressing, and seasonings to the bowl. I have always used a Mediterranean spice blend, but use what you like :)  Mix it up.

Refrigerate the salad for at least 2 hours and serve. 

Now for the stewed zucchini! This method you can use with green beans and okra and anything else for that matter! I usually add some onions, but I was out and going to the grocery store was not going to happen! Put a little oil, or ghee ;), into the pan and place over med high heat. Slice up your zucchini in 1/2 inch rounds and drop into the pan.

Add salt and pepper and onion powder. Lower the heat and add in your tomatoes. You can use stewed, diced, whatever you have on hand.

Add a little water to thin things out a little bit. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the zucchini is soft.

This meal was a hit with Delilah. It has been a ton of fun watching her try all of these new flavors, I love it!

Hers:

Pasta Salad

*Serves 2 adults and 1 baby

1/2 pound pasta (I use the Barilla Veggie Spirals)

1/2 can olive, chopped

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1/2 tablespoon italian dressing (we use Ken's, love it!)

1 teaspoon Mediterranean seasoning (any spice blend you like will do)

salt and pepper

Boil water and add pasta. Cook for 12-15 minutes. Make sure pasta is really done and day for baby to chew. Chop olives into bite sized pieces. Once pasta is cooked, drain and add to bowl along with olives, mayonnaise, italian dressing, and seasonings. Stir. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Eat!

Stewed Zucchini

2 zucchini

1 can tomatoes (diced, stewed)

1/2 onion (optional)

salt and pepper

Put 1 tablespoon in skillet and place over med high heat. Slice zucchini into 1/2 rounds. Dice onions if using. Throw veggies into skillet and brown for 5 minutes. Add can of tomatoes and a little water, 1/2 cup, to thin out. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until soft. Add you salt and pepper and enjoy!

*You can also use this method with okra and green beans!