Looking to have your kids help with Father's Day Dinner?  It is important to get your kids involved in the cooking process as young as possible.  Cooking with kids is fun and it teaches them math, science, and reading skills, plus it gives them fine motor and sensory stimulation.  Cooking healthy foods with kids helps them to become familiar with the foods and gives them more interest in trying something they haven't tried or liked before.  Cooking with skewers is a great way to start cooking with kids.  Below are some tips to teach along the way and a perfect recipe to have them prepare for dad on his special day!

The following tricks for using skewers will improve your grilling and simplify the kabob-making process.

-Soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes before using them so they won't burn during cooking.

-If you prefer metal skewers, which have a long life, use square or twisted types, which will hold the food better than round ones.

-To keep food from slipping off during cooking and turning, use two skewers rather than a single skewer.

-If you're using a wooden skewer, as you thread the food move the pieces close together, with no space showing.  If the skewer is metal, you can leave small spaces between the pieces.

-When using foods with different cooking times (such as shrimp and beef), don't combine them on the same skewer.  Instead, make skewers of just shrimp or just beef, start cooking the beef first, and then combine them on a serving platter.

Skewered Grilled Chicken Wings

Yields 1 dozen

Ingredients

1 dozen chicken wings

1 Jar of Bellisari's Saigon Street Sauce

1/3 c pineapple juice

1 c pineapple, chunked (optional)

Season as desired, salt, pepper, and garlic powder

Garnish with chopped green onion or sesame seeds if desired

Directions

Marinate the raw chicken wings for an hour in the pineapple juice.  Remove from marinade and thread the wings onto the skewers evenly (3 or 4 per skewer) and add one chunk of pineapple on the end of each one.  Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and set aside in the fridge.

Preheat the grill to medium heat or 350.  Grill the skewers on both sides for approximately 5 minutes each.  Begin basting the skewers on both sides with Bellisari's Saigon Street Sauce and grill for approximately 20 minutes or until the wings are cooked through.

Garnish with green onions or sesame seeds if desired.

Looking for “Make Ahead Recipes for Graduation Parties”? Let Bellisari’s and our Gourmet Convenience tips help take the last-minute hassle out of your party planning by spreading out the work the week before your event. These super easy make-ahead recipes are the perfect plan for graduation party food! Having been through many Graduation Parties, and more to come, I know how stressful it is to try and figure out what to serve guests. Whether you are planning a big party, or just a quiet family gathering, it is important to create recipes that will take the stress away for you.

Barista Chicken Satay

Servings: 8

Ingredients:

1 Pound of Chicken Tenders

1 Jar of Bellisari's Barista Sauce *(Can substitute, Saigon or Calabrian)

8 Skewers

Directions:

Marinate chicken tenders in 1/4 Cup of Bellisari's Barista Sauce for at least 30 minutes. You can make these up to 3 days ahead.  Preheat grill to medium heat, soak wooden skewers in water so they do not burn. After the chicken is done marinating, skewer the chicken tenders.

Grill the chicken on each side about 4-5 mins until cooked through. Heat up another ¼- ½ cup of Bellisari's Barista Sauce to serve for dipping or below is an easy Tzatziki Sauce Recipe.

Tzatziki Sauce Recipe

Yields 1.5 cups.

Ingredients

1 cup Greek whole milk yogurt

1 English cucumber, seeded, finely grated and drained

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 teaspoon lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Directions

In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, cucumber, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice and dill. Season with salt and pepper. Chill. Can be made up to 3 days ahead and sealed in a plastic container in the fridge.

Blue Cheese, Honey & Shallot Spread Endive Spears

Serves: 10

Ingredients

1 Jar Bellisari’s Blue Cheese Honey & Shallot Spread

12 Endive spears

1 Small bag of walnuts

1 Small sandwich bag

Directions:

Wash endive spears thoroughly. Place ½ jar of Bellisari's Blue Cheese, Honey & Shallot Spread into the sandwich bag. Cut a small slit in the corner of the bag. Gently squeeze the spread into the endive spears.

Top with chopped walnuts and serve. This can be make 24 hours ahead and placed on a sheet tray, covered and stored in the refrigerator.

Stuffed peppers is one of my favorite go-to main dishes. They’re delicious, easy to make, and extremely flexible because you can make the filling with whatever ingredients or leftovers you have available. Stuffed peppers also cover all your bases for a healthy and complete meal.  No matter what ingredients you decide to use for your stuffed peppers, you really can’t go wrong.  Bell peppers are not only colorful, flavorful, and packed full of healthy nutrients, but they form the perfect natural bowls for other favorite foods. Some other peppers that are good for stuffing are Anaheim, Jalapeno, and the Hot Banana pepper.  Smaller and spicier than their bell-pepper cousins are the poblano peppers which are also good for stuffing.  Below we have a delicious recipe for a stuffed poblano using Bellisari’s Calabrian and Sweet Tomato Fennel Spread.  Remember-it depends on the batch of poblanos you purchase-sometimes they are spicy and sometimes mild.

Stuffed Poblanos

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

4 poblano peppers

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 to 2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes & green chilies, drained, whatever level of heat you desire. I used mild.

1 (15 ounce) can low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups whole kernel corn, I used frozen

3/4 to 1 cup queso fresco

3 to 4 tablespoon fajita seasoning, recipe above

1 Jar Calabrian Pepper and Sweet Tomato Fennel Spread

Instructions

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Preheat the oven broiler on high. Position an oven rack about 4 inches from the broiler. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil.  Place the poblanos on a cooking sheet and set under broiler.

Turn the peppers after 3-4 minutes, once they start to blister and turn black. Keep an eye on the peppers, this happens quickly. Peppers are done when all sides are blackened and blistered.

Remove peppers from heat and place in a plastic zip-top bag for 5 to 10 minutes. Allow peppers to cool enough for you to handle.  Remove peppers from bag and remove blackened skin.

Cut each poblano pepper open, from stem to tip and remove seeds, set aside.

Chicken mixture

Season chicken breasts liberally with fajita seasoning on both sides. Heat a sauté pan to med-high. Add vegetable oil. When oil is hot add chicken to skillet. Cook chicken breasts 3 to 4 minutes on the first side, turn and cook another 2 to 3 minutes until cooked through. Cook time will vary depending on the size and thickness. I pound them flat to help speed up this process.

Remove from pan and chop chicken into chunks or shred.

Return chicken to pan along with diced tomatoes, corn and black beans. 

Stuff each pepper with chicken mixture and top with queso fresca. Pour Bellisari’s Calabrian and Sweet Tomato Fennel Spread into an oven safe tray and then place the stuffed peppers on top.  In a 400-degree oven, heat peppers in oven until cheese melts. Serve hot.