Antipasto Kabobs (Easy)

These are a great finger food for parties, potlucks, etc.  They are easy to pick up and eat and very tasty.  They are a bit time consuming to make because of having to skewer them on wooden bamboo 10 inch skewers times 2 and you will see what I mean by that in the pictures below.  You are going to need wire cutters to cut them in half and if you don't have them then you will need a strong pair of kitchen shears to cut them in half.  These can be made the night before serving,  just store in an airtight container in the fridge.  I made these for a neighborhood block party this Halloween weekend and I have also made these for a church potluck.  They were completely gone for the potluck and I am sure they will be a hit at the neighborhood block party. 

Ingredients:

• 1 large package refrigerated cheese tortellini, cooked according to package directions, allow to cool to the touch, you can make these ahead of time just for that reason, needing to be cool to the touch
• 1 medium-sized jar of pimiento-stuffed olives(green olives), I purchased the large olives
• 2 cans large pitted black olives
• Italian salad dressing 
• 1 package pepperoni slices
• 1/4 lb hard salami, cut in halves
• 1 pint grape tomatoes
• 1 - 16oz package of cubed cheese, colby jack, any flavor you prefer
• package of wooden skewers

Directions:

1. Cook tortellini according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water.  
2. In a plastic container large enough with a lid combine the tortellini with some of the Italian salad dressing, just enough to give it some flavor, don't bathe it in the dressing and shake it up to coat it.  
3. Get a bowl for each of the other individual items and squirt some Italian dressing on each food item to just flavor, remember not too much, you don't want them swimming in salad dressing.  
4. Stir each item up to give even distribution of Italian dressing and place the bowls in order of how you will skewer them on the wooden skewer.

The order of foods:

1. green olives
2. 2 pepperoni slices, fold in half 
3. cube of cheese
4. tortellini
5. grape tomato
6. hard salami, cut in half, then folded in half then half again, looks like a triangle when finished folding
7. black olive

Skewer two times per skewer evenly but leave some space in between to cut it with wire cutters(wire cutters are preferred and easier on the hand) or  scissors.  Enjoy!  Great picnic idea as well and can be satisfying as your main meal for a picnic;  bring a loaf of crusty bread and some drinks and don't forget the blanket!

Kabob ingredients ready to go

The Italian salad dressing I used. This is a very yummy dressing!

My assembly line setup for skewering the kabobs.

Next I have to cut each skewer down the middle, this is the hard part, hurts your hand.

All cut in halves, ready to be stored in the fridge for the next day.

They were ready for their close-up! LOL!