Caprese Italian Skewers #Recipe

I recently through my son a HUGE 2nd birthday party. The theme was Jungle Safari, so I was desperately trying to find foods that kind of went along with the theme. I loved the idea of “food on a stick” to go along with my theme, so naturally I made these delicious Caprese Italian Skewers. Not only did they go along with my theme, but they were a fabulous finger food perfect for both the kids and adults at the party!

Whether you are throwing a birthday party, hosting a ladies night out, attending a church potluck or packing up an ice chest for a picnic, these easy and delicious skewers are absolutely fantastic. Simply build them the way you like, season and keep chilled until they are ready to be served.

Ingredients

• 2 cups grape tomatoes
• 16 oz mozzarella cheese balls and/or provolone cheese (I used a combination of both)
• 1/2 lb meat of choice (I used a combination of salami and prosciutto)
• 1 can small black olives
• 1 package fresh tortellini of choice
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• ½ tsp sea salt
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste 
• 2 TBSP cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 TBSP dried Basil (or you can replace with 1/4 cup freshly chopped basil)
• toothpicks

Directions

1. Bowl water and cook tortellini for about 3 minutes. Strain water and place tortellini in a cold water bath and in the refrigerator to stop cooking and cool.
2. Place tomatoes, mozzarella, tortellini and olives each in their own bowls. Place provolone cheese and meat each along side bowls and prepare to build your skewers.
3. Build your skewers the way you want them. I had fun with this part. Some had salami, others had prosciutto. The same with the provolone and olives. Each line of skewers was a little different. I enjoyed making some skewers completely vegetarian for guests who I knew where attending. Also I found that when you place the tortellini on the top of the skewer it added an extra fun “present” look.
4. Once skewers are built the way you want them, place them on a plate and drizzle the balsamic vinegar, and olive oil over skewers. Sprinkle basil, salt and pepper onto skewers to taste. 
5. You can now serve the skewers immediately or up to 1 day later. 
6. Enjoy 🙂 Your guests are sure to love this delicious appetizer.