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Tortellini Caprese Salad Skewers

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Need a simple recipe for your next barbecue or holiday get-together? These Tortellini Caprese Salad Skewers are quick, easy, and so delicious!

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I looked at the calendar the other day and had to do a double-take.  It can’t possibly be almost September already!  I’ll ask it again, “Where is this year going?”  Labor Day is next Monday.  So if you haven’t already, now is the time to start planning your end-of-summer barbecues!  I love the fall, but I’m trying to cram in every last bit of summer that I can enjoy until it’s officially over.  That includes backyard barbecues and all of the delicious food that goes along with them!

Salads are definitely one of my go-to barbecue foods to make and to dig into.  I’m not just talking about a bowl of greens either.  Although a nice, chopped salad is good, it doesn’t compare to pasta salads and salads made with garden tomatoes, herbs, and other fresh ingredients.  Caprese salads will forever be a summer favorite of mine!  Since we grow a lot of tomatoes in our garden, it’s a salad I make over and over again throughout the summer season.  


The other night, we barbecued dinner.  I decided to create a salad on a stick recipe that was perfect side dish. This recipe would also be great for barbecues, parties, and holidays!  These little Caprese salad bites are made with just a few ingredients.  It’s a winning appetizer that takes almost no time or effort to make!  I guarantee that everyone will love these skewers!

These Tortellini Caprese Salad Skewers are seriously the perfect combination of fresh ingredients, cheese, and yummy pasta!  They’re delicious on their own, but I like to serve them with a drizzle of balsamic glaze, too.  It just brings the dish altogether.  

Tortellini Caprese Salad Skewers
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Ingredients
  1. 8 oz. bag cheese tortellini (half a 16 oz. bag of frozen tortellini)
  2. 1 pint grape tomatoes, rinsed and halved
  3. 8 oz. small fresh mozzarella
  4. Fresh basil leaves
  5. Optional: balsamic glaze
  6. 4-inch bamboo skewers
Instructions
  1. Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Add tortellini and cook for a few minutes, until pasta has softened and floated to the top of the pot.
  2. Drain tortellini and rinse with cold water. Allow pasta to cool in a strainer.
  3. Once pasta has cooled, start assembling your skewers.
  4. Skewer a mozzarella ball, then a tomato half, a basil leaf (folded in half, if necessary), and a tortellini.
  5. Continue until all ingredients are used up.
  6. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
  7. Drizzle with balsamic glaze, if desired.
Notes
  1. Pro tip: Take ingredients off of any leftover skewers. Chop basil and mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl with balsamic vinaigrette to make a delicious pasta salad!
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So if you’re like me and totally forgot that Labor Day is just around the corner, this is a quick and easy recipe to make for your holiday barbecue!  How will you be celebrating Labor Day this year?

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If you like this salad idea, you might also enjoy these:

Grilled Peach Caprese Salad

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Traditional Italian caprese salad gets a new, summery twist with the addition of fresh, grilled peaches!

WINNER OF JERSEY FRESH’S SAVORY PEACH FRESHCIPES CONTEST 2018!

Grilled Peach Caprese Salad
Do you ever make plans to not make plans?  I had fully intended to spend this past weekend at home catching up on cleaning, e-mails, etc.  Then, my brother texted me that he and my sister-in-law were brainstorming fun outdoor activities to do with my nieces and wanted to know if I wanted to tag along.  The guilt of necessary weekend housecleaning had set in at first.  Then, I received a video text of my niece saying, “Come with us, Aunt Jess!”  SUCKER!  I was ready for them to pick me up almost immediately.

We ventured to Delicious Orchards, a Jersey famous farmers market, to do some shopping.  All the while, I hung out with my almost three year old niece who begged for me to come.  I pushed her in the cart and she helped me pick fresh produce.  I treated her to a chocolate lollipop for being so good.  Then, we were going to head to an orchard down the road from the market to pick peaches. We ended up traveling to a larger orchard only to find out it was closed for the day.  We rounded out our trip with a stop for pizza.  I gave my nieces lots of hugs and kisses as I was dropped back home and told them I’d see them the following weekend.

This weekend is my brother’s birthday weekend and I’m heading up his way with my family to celebrate.  We have plans to go peach picking (and I’m pretty sure it will happen this time) and visit their local fair.  Knowing us, we’ll go a tad bit overboard with peach picking.  So I’m already brainstorming ideas to use up all of the peaches we’ll pick.  I’m not a huge fan of jam so I’ll pass on that. Maybe I’ll make a small batch of peach salsa. Mostly, I’d like to use what I have right away.  

Grilled Peach Caprese Salad
That’s when I thought about a recent HelloFresh meal my husband and I both enjoyed.  I had made Jerk Chicken and Peach Skewers.  The sweet and savory combo with a bite of heat was a huge hit!  I’ve been trying to figure out ways to incorporate grilled peaches into our meals ever since.  

Since our garden is currently producing massive amounts of tomatoes, I’ve been making a lot of Caprese salad with our dinners.  As much as I love it, there’s only so much you can enjoy before getting sick of it.  I decided to switch it up with dinner this week by including peaches.  First, I sliced and grilled the peaches.  Then, I assembled the salad, as usual, but added in my peaches and some prosciutto I had in the fridge.  It was the perfect way to add a twist to one of our favorite summer salads!

Grilled Peach Caprese Salad

Grilled Peach Caprese Salad
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Ingredients
  1. 1 peach, pit removed and sliced
  2. 1 small/medium tomato, sliced
  3. 3-4 slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
  4. 3-4 slices of prosciutto
  5. Extra virgin olive oil
  6. Balsamic glaze
  7. Honey
  8. Baby arugula, to garnish
  9. Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat your grill to medium.  Prepare your peaches by lightly brushing them with olive oil.
  2. Places peaches on the grill and cook for about 2-3 minutes on both sides.  Allow to cool slightly before assembling salad.
  3. Add baby arugula to a serving plate. Begin assembling salad by alternating peaches, tomato, fresh mozzarella, and prosciutto on top of arugula.
  4. Finish salad by seasoning with salt and pepper and drizzling with balsamic glaze and honey.
Living La Vida Holoka https://www.livinglavidaholoka.com/

Grilled Peach Caprese Salad

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What’s your favorite way to use fresh summer peaches?

Caprese Salad Stuffed Avocado

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This delicious Caprese Salad Stuffed Avocado recipe is the perfect combination of a favorite Summer salad and a seriously trendy fruit!

Caprese Salad Stuffed Avocado
Now that the 4th of July weekend is over, perhaps you’re feeling like you’ve overindulged a bit at your holiday gatherings. Too much barbecue food and booze? Maybe you’ve told yourself that you’re going to be a little more conscience about what you eat this week. Today, I’m going to help you out with a delicious lunch recipe!

The other weekend while I was hanging out at my parents’ house, I made my mom and I lunch from a few things that we picked up at the farmer’s market.  My mom and I are both huge fans of avocado and Caprese salad.  So I thought, “Why not put both of them together?”  We added some chopped grilled chicken and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.  So freaking good!  A perfect afternoon lunch bite to enjoy in the backyard by the pool!

My love for avocados began some time ago when I discovered how easy it was to make homemade guacamole (because chips and dip for life!). Then, avocado toast became a big foodie craze and I found myself purchasing avocados 3-5 at a time just to make it each morning at breakfast!  But now, I’ve found an even better way to eat an avocado – by stuffing it!

Caprese Salad Stuffed Avocado
As much as I love avocados in the Summer, I could eat Caprese salad just about every day! The ingredients are simple, fresh, and so delicious! Especially when made with homegrown, garden ingredients!

Aside from three kinds of basil, we also have cherry tomatoes growing in our garden.  There are a whole bunch of them on the vine and I am waiting so impatiently for them to turn red.  If I don’t pop them all into my mouth straight from the vine, I’ll certainly be using some to make these Caprese Salad Stuffed Avocados!

So I wasn’t too bummed when I had another avocado to use this past week, as well as everything else needed to recreate this awesome lunch dish.  The only thing missing was the balsamic glaze.  But if you have balsamic vinegar and a little sugar, you’re all set to make your own (head down to the recipe notes to see how)!  

Caprese Salad Stuffed Avocado

Caprese Salad Stuffed Avocado
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Ingredients
  1. 1 avocado, halved with pit removed
  2. 1/4 cup shredded Romaine lettuce
  3. 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
  4. 1/4 cup small mozzarella balls, cut into quarters
  5. 1/4 cup grilled chicken, cubed (Perdue Short Cuts work awesome for this!)
  6. Fresh basil, chopped
  7. Balsamic glaze (see notes)
  8. Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Scoop out a little avocado. Save the scooped out avocado for later or just pop it right in your mouth!
  2. Add little shredded lettuce to the bottom of each avocado half.
  3. Top the lettuce with tomatoes, mozzarella, and chicken.
  4. Drizzle balsamic glaze over each half.
  5. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped basil.
Notes
  1. To make balsamic glaze: Add 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar and 2 tbsp. sugar to a saucepan. Stir to combine. Heat over medium and bring mixture to a boil. Stir again. When balsamic glaze has reduced by half and becomes thick, remove from heat. Allow to cool and drizzle over avocado halves.
Living La Vida Holoka https://www.livinglavidaholoka.com/
Caprese Salad Stuffed Avocado
So the next time you’re craving Caprese salad, consider turning it into a healthy lunch by stuffing it inside of an avocado! It’s one of those dishes that will make your tastebuds happy and you’ll be happy that eating healthy can taste so good!

If you decide to make this Caprese Salad Stuffed Avocado recipe, don’t forget to share it with the hashtag #livinglavidaeats and tag me @lavidaholoka! Enjoy!

What’s your favorite way to eat an avocado?

Caprese Style Quinoa Salad

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This Caprese Style Quinoa Salad is a great way to use up garden tomatoes! It’s a healthy and delicious dish that’s full of traditional Caprese salad flavor!


Holy grape tomatoes, Batman!  Our grape tomato plant is popping like crazy right now and taking over our garden!  I’ve been dehydrating the majority of our tomatoes to make homemade sun-dried tomatoes and the rest have gone into salads.  It’s like we blink and all of a sudden there’s a whole new batch of tomatoes to pick!  I’m not actually complaining.  I love these sweet, little tomatoes!  They’re my “garden candy!”  But I had to think of another way to use them.

I’ve been slicing up our meaty beefsteak tomatoes in Caprese salads.  Caprese salad will forever be one of my favorite summer salads.  It’s so fresh, really easy to make, and best when made with tomatoes and basil straight from the garden.  This year, I’ve become a huge fan of quinoa salads, too.  Quinoa makes such an awesome base for salads.  It’s a superfood that’s high in protein and fiber, and works well in so many dishes!  So I figured, what better way to use up some our grape tomatoes than in a Caprese Style Quinoa Salad?!


This salad goes way beyond a basic Caprese salad.  Traditional Caprese Salad is sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil with a drizzle of good olive oil.  It’s a simple salad, but full of fresh flavor.  This quinoa salad recipe includes all of those ingredients, but we brought a few friends to the party, too! 

Even though quinoa is already high in protein and fiber, I love to add chickpeas to my quinoa salads.  They’re a match made in health food heaven! I also had some black olives in the fridge to use, so I sliced them up and tossed them in.  We have red onions growing in our garden, as well, so I diced one up and added it, too!  

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Caprese Style Quinoa Salad

Caprese Style Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 cup rainbow quinoa
  • 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 1 1/2 cups mini fresh mozzarella pearls
  • 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
  • 2/3 cup red onion, diced
  • 1/3 cup black olives, sliced
  • 2 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1 tbsp. prepared pesto
  • 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • Optional: red pepper flakes
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Cook quinoa according to package. Once cooked, spoon quinoa into a large bowl and set aside to cool.
  2. Add chickpeas, mozzarella, tomatoes, onion, olives, and basil to the bowl.
  3. In a small bowl, stir together the lemon juice, peso, and olive oil. Add a pinch of red pepper, if desired.
  4. Pour pesto mixture into the quinoa bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. Stir to combine and serve immediately.
  6. If not serving right away, cover bowl and store in fridge.
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Our grape tomatoes definitely aren’t slowing down anytime soon!  This quinoa salad was a delicious way to use a bunch of them up!  This is the kind of salad that gets better as it sits.  If you feel like it needs a little more dressing after a day or two, whip up another batch of the pesto, olive oil, and lemon juice dressing!  It’s even great with a drizzle of balsamic!  It’s also great for meal prepping!  Make it at the beginning of the week and enjoy it all week long! 

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