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In summer, I totally hate heating up the whole house. I mentioned that recently, and I’ll say it again– dinner is not worth turning an oven on for! That’s why summer dinner is better on the grill. But how often do we think of grilling as being all about the meat? Forget those days– fresh veggies and fruit on the grill are all the rage, and I’ve got the easiest way to do it, plus two dips to pair with dinner!

When I go to grill, I check out the aisles of my local Walmart store for everything I need to Fire Up the Grill. I love that I can find delicious fresh produce there, as well as all of the most important ingredients to keep my grill and my family happy for the summer– including a myriad of awesome Kraft products, like Kraft singles to top our burgers, A1 sauce for our steaks, and Country Time lemonade for the perfect grill-side drink.

My perfect dip for vegetables starts with a bag of Kraft Cheese Crumbles in a three-cheese blend, poured into a microwaveable dish. I like to choose one that has a lid, because dips are best made a few hours in advance and chilled so the flavors have time to mesh better. This dip seriously takes 5 minutes from start-to-fridge so it’ll be ready by the time your skewers are done grilling.

Add 1 block of Philadelphia Cream Cheese to the natural crumbles Kraft Cheese blend.

To that, you’ll want to stir in a tablespoon of A1 sauce, then microwave for 1 minute or until cheeses are melted together, stirring after every 30 seconds.

Stir in one cup of Kraft Real Mayo, then an entire packet of Kraft thick and creamy Ranch Dressing and Dip mix (this is the powdered stuff, not the bottled stuff).

Make sure this mixture is thoroughly combined, then pop it in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving. In the meantime, start whipping up your fresh fruit dip!

The refreshing lemon fruit dip starts just as easily, with a tub of Kraft Cool Whip (the 8 oz size), in an airtight container so it can be chilled before serving.

Using a mixer, combine Cool Whip with one block of softened Philadelphia Cream Cheese until completely combined.

Then, add in Country Time powdered lemonade mix in your favorite flavor, filled just to the 2-quart line in the cap. (Country Time lemonade is available in original, pink lemonade, strawberry lemonade, and other flavors, but I opted for the original for this post).

Pop that into the fridge, and get to work on your skewers!

Now, you can eliminate work by using metal skewers, which happen to be reusable and a great choice if you’re a regular griller. However, I had these wooden ones on hand, and your best bet for those is to soak them for about half an hour before you start your dinner prep, to prevent them burning too much on the grill.

The great thing about Walmart is that I can pick up fresh produce alongside my favorite Kraft products in stores– and the key to a great skewer is to pick a blend and variety of different colours for dinner. I chose mushrooms, purple onions, and potatoes to start.

Green bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, and mini sweet peppers in red, yellow, and orange rounded out the colorful assortment for veggie skewers. You’ll want to thoroughly wash your produce, then cut it into bite sized pieces before you start skewering. We like to do the dinner prep as a family– we turn up the tunes, talk, and assemble skewers assembly-line style!

Our other tip is to start and finish with a harder vegetable, like potatoes, to prevent anything sliding off. If you have a firm vegetable starting and ending it, your softer veggies like mushrooms and tomatoes can slide around without the fear of them plopping into the grill.

The same goes for fruit, which is why pineapple makes a fantastic start and end piece. We used that alongside softer mango and peach slices for a deliciously sweet dessert.

Once the skewers are assembled, fire up the grill because it’s time to cook!

We used a charcoal grill, turning the skewers once during cooking.

Basically, you’ll want to cook these until the vegetables and fruits are tender, or about 7-10 minutes on each side.

That’s just enough time to make some Kraft Mac and Cheese, pour a glass of Country Time lemonade, and set the patio table for dinner. If you’re short on sides, you can also grab some potato salad, hummus, or other delicious additions from Walmart’s Marketside deli products– it’s an easy way to round out the meal and let the fruit and vegetables take center stage!

Once your skewers are ready, you can serve them to the family!

Of course, you can choose whether you want individual dip cups or not… I guess that depends on how good you are with double-dipping!

Because these dips are SO easy to make, I know they’ll be a staple for your summer cookout– but here’s the best part: they’re good on fresh, non-grilled fruits and veggies, too, so you can add them to a homemade relish tray and impress your friends, too!

These dips will be such a hit that you can go ahead and pat yourself on the back and call yourself the queen of the party now, because they’re easy enough for weeknights and fancy enough for inviting your friends over.

Don’t forget that these skewers would pair perfectly with my other favorite summer grilling recipe– bacon wrapped cheeseburger dogs! You can also find a ton of other grilling inspiration from Kraft in this awesome digital cookbook!

Have you tried grilling fresh fruit or vegetables? What’s your favorite treat to have on the grill?