5 Fun New Ways to Use Feta

Adding tangy, salty feta to everyday dishes like salads, grilled vegetables and seafood, and even tacos and nachos is a great way to give them a boost of flavor without a lot of effort. That's why this week, we decided to use feta in creative ways to create five original recipes for you to try at home.

Feta found in most stores comes from a few different countries, not necessarily just Greece. You can find French feta, Bulgarian feta, and feta from other Balkan countries. The best feta is sold in brine, which helps keep the cheese fresh and moist. If you're not a fan of the pronounced saltiness of feta, you can tone it down by soaking it in some water before using, or if you're not using it right away, you can drain it from the brine and store it in milk instead, for up to three months in the refrigerator.

RELATED: 15 Cool Ways to Use Greek Yogurt

When you're ready to experience feta, make sure to let it come to room temperature first, like any other cheese, in order to maximize its flavor.

All of the recipes featured here can be made at home for about $20 or less, excluding the cost of small amounts of basic ingredients such as butter, oil, flour, sugar, salt, pepper, and other dried herbs and spices.

Cholula Chicken Tacos with Feta(Pictured above)

At restaurants, I find it is hard to find a taco that is still fresh and somewhat healthy tasting, and not drowned in sauce. These tacos pack in flavor and don't pack in the extras, making them a simple, fresh, and all-season favorite.

INGREDIENTS
• 2 chicken breasts
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 small red onions, sliced
• One 15-ounce can black beans
• 2 1/2 ounces Cholula
• 10 small tortillas
• Green salsa, to taste
• 4 ounces feta, crumbled

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place the chicken breasts in a small glass baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Then, remove the chicken from the oven and carefully cut them lengthwise. Bake, uncovered, for 20 more minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 1 teaspoon of the olive oil in a medium-sized frying pan over medium-high heat, and cook the onions until golden brown. In a small saucepan, heat the black beans over low heat with the remaining olive oil.

Remove the chicken from the oven, and with 2 forks, pull the chicken apart. (Do this while hot, so that the pieces pull apart easily.) Transfer to a bowl, and toss with the Cholula.

Place the tortillas in a stack in the microwave, covered with a damp towel, for 22 seconds on high. Then, assemble the tacos, placing the chicken in the shell first, followed by the beans, onions, salsa, and feta.

RECIPE DETAILS
Servings: 3

Grilled Eggplant with Feta
Looking to go meatless for a night? This easy side dish can help you do that. When grilled, eggplant turns creamy, smoky, and dare we say it - yes - meaty in flavor.

Click here to see the Grilled Eggplant with Feta Recipe.

Feta Summer Pasta
Tangy, salty feta cheese brings a distinctive Mediterranean flair to this simple pasta salad recipe.

Click here to see the Feta Summer Pasta Recipe.

Greek Shrimp Bruschetta
While in Italian cuisine, there is a general injunction against mixing dairy with seafood (with a few exceptions), in Greek cuisine there is no such taboo. Hence Lori Yates set out to create this Greek-inspired appetizer dish. Yates is the author of the blog foxes love lemons and member of the Culinary Content Network.

Click here to see the Greek Shrimp Bruschetta Recipe.

Chopped Salad with Chickpeas and Feta
Justine Fontinell, co-author of full belly sisters, part of the Culinary Content Network, shares a cucumber and tomato salad that is easy, fresh, and delicious.

Click here to see the Chopped Salad with Chickpeas and Feta Recipe.

- Will Budiaman, The Daily Meal