2 Feta Recipes

Right up there with cilantro, Feta is one of my favorite flavors in the whole world.

Shell these recipes are especially for you. The chicken one is the one I was talking about the other day but this shrimp one is awesome too. Hope you try them and like them as much as I do!

Roasted Tomatoes with Shrimp & Feta

• 5 large tomatoes, cut into eighths
• 3 T. olive oil
• 2 T. (about 5-6 large cloves) garlic, minced
• 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 2 lbs. medium shrimp, peeled & deveined (tip: prep the shrimp ahead of time & store in frig no more than 24 hours)
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley
• 2 T. lemon juice (I just squeeze a half of a lemon over the dish)
• 1 block of Feta, crumbled (not sure of size, don't have the container in front of me...maybe 8 oz??)

Preheat oven to 450 F.

Place tomatoes in large baking dish. Spoon olive oil & garlic over tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt & pepper, toss.

Place on top rack of oven and roast for, no more than, 20 minutes. Remove dish from oven and stir in the shrimp, parsley, and lemon juice. Sprinkle with Feta. Place back in oven, on top rack, for another 10 - 15 minutes or 'til shrimp are cooked. Serve warm.

Serve with whatever sides you'd like. (I've served both of these recipes with a nice crusty bread like baguette and a side of veggies. Rice Pilaf would be good with both of these recipes too. - p. 193 in the Heinonen cookbook.)

Easy Feta Chicken Bake

• 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 lb.)
• 2 T. lemon juice, divided (as in the above recipe, I just use a half of a fresh lemon)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1-2 c. (4-8 oz.) block of Feta, crumbled
• 1/4 c. diced red pepper
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350 F. Arrange chicken in a 13 x 9 baking dish.

Drizzle with 1 T. lemon juice. Season with salt & pepper. Top with Feta, drizzle with remaining lemon juice. (You can add the red pepper at this time or wait until the last 15 - 20 minutes of baking, like I do.)

Bake 35 minutes or 'til chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with parsley.

Both recipes are farely easy to 'alter'. Mark doesn't like feta as much as I. So when I make the chicken I don't put feta just the lemon & seasoning on his. It tastes like lemon-pepper chicken. And if your kids are picky about the parsley & red pepper, you can easily take it off or skip it on theirs.