When he asked me if WANM had a “killer” guacamole recipe, I said “mayyybe” in an effort to see what he was getting at. He told us about an event he was throwing called Guacaholics Anonymous. And would we like to participate by making our own guacamole? We obviously said yes without hesitation.

And then we started freaking out a bit. After all, it was guacamole for 100 people! 100! But after learning a serving was simply a chip-full, we calmed down a bit. The event consisted of Boston restaurants (like our favorite Poe’s Kitchen at the Rattlesnake!) and some local “amateurs” making their own guacamole. Oh, and a whole lot of people eating it. All of the money raised (tickets were only $10) went to Lovin’ Spoonfuls, Share our Strength, and Community Servings; 3 fabulous organizations.

So, what did Chels and I make? Come on, you know us. We made a bacon guacamole! It was a pretty traditional guac consisting of avocados (obviously), chopped tomato, finely diced red onion, lime, salt and pepper, and red chili flakes. Then we chopped up some bacon and stirred it in.

Neither of us have ever had bacon in our guacamole before, but we knew it HAD to be good. We also decided to leave our guac pretty chunky since neither of us really love super pureed guacamole. We tested it before tonight’s event and decided it was a definite go.

We got a really awesome response to our guacamole and lots of people even told us it was the best they had. Yay! Of course, we really have to thank bacon. Because bacon can do no wrong (unless you’re a vegetarian, of course). But this was definitely a guacamole we’ll be making for events in the future!

The turn-out for the event was great and the Fenway Cantina was the perfect space to hold it.

We wore our aprons, of course

Another decision we made was to prep all our fixings at home and then make the actual guacamole when we arrived; right before the event started. We wanted it to be as fresh as possible! And we kind of felt like we were preparing a dish on TopChef while we were doing it!

A HUGE thank you to Aaron of @EatBoston for asking us to participate in Guacaholics Anonymous and for throwing another amazing event.

He also informed us that he has lots of fun food event planned for the future, so definitely stay tuned

I don’t know why that made us so sad… Also, I was sure I looked super sad in this photo; but I really just look weird.

Oh, you’re probably wondering about the feta, right? While we seriously considered adding feta to our guacamole (it’s kinda close to cotija, right?!), we decided not to. Though I have a feeling it could have been awesome.

But for lunch I made a tuna salad with feta. I actually made the tuna with simply Greek yogurt and Athenos feta cheese. No mayo! And really, you couldn’t even tell there was no mayo.

I toasted some bread and made an open-faced sandwich with it, putting the tuna on top of some tomato. Greek yogurt and feta may be my two new tuna salad go-to ingredients! And of course, I put celery in the salad too, for a little crunch.

Oh, and for anyone who met me at Guacaholics Anonymous and thought, “wow, that’s not what I pictured her to sound like,” I swear I usually don’t sound like an 80-year-old smoker (or Lindsay Lohan as Chris so kindly told me later this evening). I came down with an awful cold (obviously on the week I’m moving!) and woke up this morning with no voice. I rested it all day and managed to have it working albeit in a super raspy way for tonight’s event.

I definitely talked too much (and too loudly) all evening long, so I need to finish my hot tea and head to bed. Here’s to hoping I’m all better by Friday!

Don’t forget, you can still enter our giveaway for a Gap jeans gift certificate (up to a $69.50) value through Friday! I could use any last minute moving tips you have up your sleeves

Do you have a favorite guacamole add-in?

[Sues]

Here’s what you need for one serving (I mostly eyeballed my measurements but you can find a more exact recipe here):

• 1/2 of a large zucchini, cut into 1/4″ thick slices
• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs (I used panko since that’s what I had on hand, you could also use seasoned bread crumbs)
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg (I used the entire egg, you can also use just the egg white)

Here’s what you do:

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

• In a small bowl mix bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, pepper, and parmesan cheese.

• Place the egg in a separate bowl, dip the zucchini slices in egg, then coat with the bread crumb mixture.

• Place all slices on a greased baking sheet. I sprayed mine with a bit of olive oil.

• Bake for 5 minutes then flip each slice and bake for another 7-10 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

The taste and flavor were definitely there but this is definitely a work in progress. I think next time I’d like to cut the slices just a tad thinner because they brown a bit better than the thicker slices. They’re more “chip-like” and crispy when they’re thin, too!

After the chips were done baking I realized I hadn’t eaten any lunch so I topped a bed of spinach with some fresh sweet corn, Athenos Tomato and Basil Feta, and the zucchini chips. And I quickly whipped up a dressing that consisted of plain Greek yogurt, fresh parsley, red onion, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, cumin, and tomato which worked really well and was just the right consistency with the zucchini chips!

And now it’s Feta Friday Giveaway Time! Making a change for the Feta one giveaway at a time

The prize pack includes:

• Free Athenos Feta coupon
• 1-month gym membership to LifeTime Fitness
• Athenos water bottle
• Athenos Feta recipe booklet
• Salad shaker travel container (great for picnics or taking your lunch to work!)
• Reusable lunch bag

Just like I created zucchini chips completely unplanned, share with us your best accident turned “this is a keeper recipe”! Leave a comment on this post with your story by Tuesday, July 27 11:59pm EST for your chance to win the prize pack! We’ll randomly select a winner and announce it next week

Happy weekend, friends!

[Chels]

My dad told me that shrimp and feta is one of his favorite combinations and after checking out tons of recipes, i decided tomatoes and orzo would be the perfect complements. Negative points for my grocery store not having orzo. Argh! But instead I got a whole wheat pilaf with orzo mixed in. Not perfect, but it worked. Actually, it worked quite well because this was delicious!

Shrimp and Feta Orzo Salad (serves 4):

• 1.5 C orzo
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 lb. shrimp, shelled and deveined
• Salt and pepper
• 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 3 oz. Athenos feta (I used the black peppercorn variety)
• A couple sprigs of thyme

First, get your orzo cooking, according to the directions.

Then, put the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Then put your shrimp in and cook for 3-5 minutes, until shrimp turn opaque. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, too.

Get your tomatoes all chopped up.

Then add the tomatoes to the skillet and cook until heated through, about 30 seconds.

Put the orzo and shrimp and tomatoes in a bowl. And toss with the feta and thyme.

And that is literally ALL YOU DO. I told you, easiest thing ever. But still, quite impressive, right?

It was light and perfect for another hot summer night. Have I mentioned how excited I am to move into an apartment with AC in 9 days?? No? Well, I am! It won’t make turning the oven on so tough, either.

Which means I’ll probably be making a ton more baked goods! But for now, I certainly can’t complain about dishes like this one!

What’s your favorite way to prepare shrimp?

[Sues]

So, while this salad did have plenty of veggie-goodness, it wasn’t exactly totally healthy. But like I said, it’s Monday, and we have to ease into this week slowly. So, yes, there are corn and tomatoes. But yes, there is also butter. The good news? I got my salad inspiration from this recipe on the Food Channel website, but I changed it a bit. And cut way down on the butter it called for. And the olive oil too (though there’s nothing I hate more than people who bash olive oil. In moderation, it’s SO good for you!!).

Pan-Roasted Corn Salad with Tomatoes and Feta:

• 4 ears of corn, husks and silks removed and shucked off cob (about 3.5 C of kernels)
• 1.5 T unsalted butter
• 2.5 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 t thyme, freshly chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 C halved cherry tomatoes
• 4 oz. Athenos feta cheese, crumbled (I used Athenos Roasted Bell Pepper and Garlic. OMG!)
• Juice from 1/2 lime
• 2 T basil, slivered

To be honest, I am not a huge lover of corn on the cob. Never have been. I LOVE corn, especially in the summer, but I just HATE eating it on the cob. My dad has always removed it from the cob for me, or else I just plain ignore it on the dinner table. Sad because when it’s in season, it’s so, so awesome. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to make this recipe so badly. I get to eat fresh corn on the cob, but off the cob!! Now where was my dad when I was cutting it off??

I shucked all the cobs and used a knife to cut all the corn off (myself!).

Then I heated about 3/4 T of butter and 1 T of EVOO in a nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat. I warmed it until it was almost smoking and then added half my minced garlic, stirring constantly for about 30 seconds. Use as much butter and EVOO as you feel is necessary, but this amount seemed to work for me.

Then I added in half the corn and stirred occasionally until tender, about 4 minutes.

Then I added in half the green onion and half the thyme and sautéed for another minute before seasoning with salt and pepper.

I removed the corn mixture to a big bowl and repeated the whole process with the other half of the ingredients.

Add the second batch of corn to the bowl and let cool to room temperature (stirring occasionally) for about 30 mins. I put mine in the fridge.

I chopped all my cherry tomatoes. On that note, can someone tell me WHY I can never take a good photo of tomatoes? Ugh. It’s just awful.

Anyway, then add the feta cheese. You can obviously use whatever kind you want, but I was SO excited when Athenos sent me the Roasted Bell Pepper and Garlic variety. I didn’t even know it existed and figured it would go perfectly with the tomatoes and corn!

Can’t you just see the amazing flavors? I also threw in 1/2 T of the EVOO and some pepper (I didn’t think it would need any more salt). I put this in the fridge while the corn was cooling, too.

When the corn was cooled, I added the tomato/feta mixture to it. Plus I added in the basil and lime juice.

It’s one of those salads, that not only looks delicious, but it looks beautiful too! I LOVE bright summer salads.

Of course, I had a serving right away. And. This is exactly what I expect summer to taste like. I mean, come on, corn, tomatoes, basil? Does it get more summery than that? Oh, and the lime juice was a really awesome complement too.

I thought the flavored feta was the perfect touch. Though plain feta would have been totally fine.

Can you seriously blame me for not being sick of these feta salads yet? Even though I had this for lunch, I’ll probably have another serving later on. I’m planning on making tacos for dinner and think this salad will be the best side ever!

I really can’t think of any way this salad could have been any better. Unless I was sitting at a pool eating it… With a large glass of sangria in my hand. But I’m trying to be realistic here.

How do you like your corn on the cob? On the cob or off?

[Sues]

And since I have a pretty packed rest of the week (my best friend from college is getting married this weekend and I’m in the wedding!! So so so excited!!), I figured this dish would be good as leftovers for a quick bite to eat when we’re on the go. I knew I wanted to make a pasta with chicken sausage and feta and then I figured olives and broccoli would be nice additions. And lucky for my stomach, I was right!

Mediterranean Pasta with Chicken Sausage, Olives, Broccoli, and Feta (Serves 6-8)

• 1 lb. penne (whole wheat or not!)
• 1 head broccoli
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 links chicken sausage (I used sundried tomato)
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 pound kalamata olives, or any olives of your choosing
• 1 C Athenos Feta ( I used the sundried tomato and basil variety)
• Freshly ground pepper

First things first, boil your pasta according to directions or your favorite way to do it. Drain the pasta and put it back in the pot to set aside.

Now, you need cut the stems off your broccoli florets. Put about 1/2 C water in a large pan over medium heat. Cover and steam for about 5 minutes. When done, drain water and set aside.

While the broccoli was steaming, I chopped up all my other ingredients– the garlic, olives, and sausage.

Put the olive oil in a pan over medium and saute the garlic for about 2 minutes before adding your sausage. If you haven’t tried Al Fresco’s chicken sausage, you must! It’s amazing. And they sell it at Trader Joe’s AND my local Star Market grocery store. It’s already fully cooked, so I just made sure it was heated through and pretty golden-looking.

Once the sausage is good, throw the olives and broccoli into the pan, too. Stir together and make sure everything is heated nicely.

Now, throw the mixture into your pot of pasta. If you want, you can drizzle a little more olive oil to mix in. Put freshly ground pepper on top, too.

And serve! These were some of my favorite foods all sitting together in one delightful dish. For some reason, my olives were super salty (more so than usual), so I definitely didn’t need any added salt (side note. Is there an olive tasting class I can take? I need to learn more about olives!).

I ate a nice big bowl, but kind of wished I had either used less pasta or more of the other ingredients. No biggie though because I can just make sure to scoop more goodies for my next serving. Which is going to be in about 5 minutes. For lunch.

The chicken sausage/feta combo was sooo good!

Also? It was my first time eating the Tomato Basil Athenos Feta and I loved it! Dangerous though because it was totally the kind of thing I’ll find myself eating on its own. Not that I don’t do that with plain feta already.

Do you love chicken sausage? What’s your favorite kind?

Athenos Feta Friday Giveaway Winner!

The winner of our second Athenos Feta Friday Giveaway Winner is Kathy!! We’ll email you soon to get your info for the awesome feta gift pack! Congrats

[Sues]

Couscous and Feta-Stuffed Peppers (serves 4)

• 1 1/4 C fat-free chicken or vegetable broth
• 2/3 C couscous
• 4 extra-large bell peppers (any colors you like!)
• 2 t olive oil
• 1/2 C chopped onion
• 6 oz. zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced across
• 6 oz. yellow squash, quartered lengthwise and sliced across
• 1/2 t fennel seeds
• 1/2 t dried oregano
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 C cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 15 oz. canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 C crumbled Athenos feta cheese
• 3 T tomato paste
  

I was dogsitting for the lovely Mitzi while I made this dish and let me tell you, it’s hard to cook in a kitchen you’re not used to. Not only for obvious reasons, but also because I just wasn’t used to the lighting and had a hard time adjusting my camera. Ugh. Let’s hope I can figure things out in my new apt. kitchen pretty quickly!

Anyway. Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and coating a baking dish with cooking spray. Then cut the stems and top half inch of the peppers off and scoop out the seeds and membranes. And put the peppers in the baking dish. Like so:

Now, boil your chicken or vegetable broth in a saucepan. Add the couscous, cover the pan, and then remove it from the heat.

Once your oven is heated, pop the baking dish with the peppers in and roast them for about 15 minutes, until they soften. Then take them out and set them aside.

Now, you can start chopping. I didn’t measure out all my veggies and basically just used a small onion, zucchini, and squash.

Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet and add the onion, zucchini, squash, fennel seeds, oregano, and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes until vegetables soften.

Remove the mixture from the heat and add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and chickpeas. Stir it all together.

Add the couscous into the mixture, mixing it in. Stir in the Athenoa feta.

Now you’re ready to fill the peppers with the couscous mixture.

Bake the peppers for 15 minutes.

And they’re ready to eat! I loved that this meal was so absolutely filling without involving any meat. I ate the peppers for dinner two nights in a row… And I actually ended up with a lot of extra filling, so I had the couscous salad with feta for some meals as well.

But the best part of the meal? The company that came along with it. Which involved my beautiful “cousin” Mitzi. If only everyone was lucky enough to have such an incredibly loving, happy dog in their lives. Her cheerfulness is infectious!

Peppers stuffed with couscous and feta and a beautiful little pup? Life is wonderful

[Sues]

Here’s what you need: Serves 4

• 1 lb thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 lb linguine
• 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup packed fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup Athenos traditional crumbled feta
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced

Here’s what you do:

• Cook asparagus in a 6 to 8 quart pot of boiling well-salted water until just tender, 4-6 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a large heatproof bowl, then add peas to boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer peas with slotted spoon to bowl with asparagus, then add linguine to the boiling water and cook until al dente.

• While linguine cooks, pulse the basil, mint, oil, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup feta in a food processor until chopped, then add to vegetables. (WARNING: this is outstanding. I couldn’t stop “sampling” it while my pasta finished cooking! The feta in this… oh my!)

• Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain pasta. Stir reserved water into vegetables, then add pasta, parsley, scallions, and remaining 1/2 cup of feta and toss.

My favorite part of the dish, besides all of the fresh flavors, was the way the herb, oil, and feta mixture completely and perfectly coated each strand of linguine. Nothing left at the bottom of the bowl.

Something tells me I’m gonna have a tough time sleeping tonight knowing this awaits me for lunch tomorrow

[Chels]

While looking for a swordfish recipe, I came across Giada’s recipe for Swordfish with Citrus Pesto. Pesto! I love pesto. But for whatever reason, I’ve never made my own pesto. Must be incredibly difficult, right?? I bet you know what I’m going to say now… Nope! It was super duper easy. And now I’m totally obsessed with the fact that I know how to make it and I’m going to want it all the time. I actually used some leftover pesto on the rest of my sweet potato fry salad with feta this afternoon.

Pesto = best dressing ever. Now you know.

Citrus Pesto:

• 1 bunch basil, about 3 cups
• 1/2 C pine nuts, toasted
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 lemon, zested and juice
• 1 orange, zested and juiced
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 C extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 C grated parmesan

Swordfish:

• 4 (6-ounce) swordfish steaks
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

So, like I said pesto is the easiest thing in the world. It would be wonderful if you had a food processor in which to make it, though. I’m absolutely OBSESSED with my Cuisinart and I highly recommend one for everyone. They make life so much easier. Yes, you could use a blender, but in my opinion, the food processor is so much easier/faster/more fun.

Put the basil, toasted pine nuts, garlic, orange and lemon juices and zest, and salt and pepper in the food processor. I should note here that when you toast your pine nuts, be careful! They can burn very very quickly and you need to keep your eye on them.

Blend the mixture until finely chopped. It takes like 2 seconds. And then, with the machine still running, gradually add in the olive oil until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.

And stir in the parmesan cheese. Omg, it looks like pesto! And smells like it, too! At the ripe old age of 27, these are the things that excite me. Sad? I don’t think so. I’m quite happy, thank you very much.

And that’s all it takes to make pesto!!!! Try it and you’ll be obsessed too. Promise.

Now get your swordfish out and brush both sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. I don’t have a grill. Sadness (but the apartment building I’m moving into in a month has one!!). So I just used a griddle pan.

I love cooking fish and I just don’t do it enough. This swordfish I cooked for about 4 minutes on each side at medium heat.

And the final product!! Just looking at this makes me want more. Lots more. I put a thin layer of pesto on the swordfish.

And then when I was done taking photos and sat down to eat, I added a lot more. What? I’m not going to lie.

And now I totally want swordfish every night. I know, i know, it’s not good to eat swordfish that often (you know, mercury and all). But every once in a while for a treat? Oh my, yes please.

And, of course, when I’m not eating swordfish, I can always use pesto on anything else I can find in my fridge and cupboard. Can and will. I hear pesto freezes quite well, yes?

Are you a fan of pesto? What do you put it on? What should I do with it next? Ideas, please!

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to enter our Feta Friday Giveaway!!

[Sues]

Then I realized I could make “baked sweet potato thins” and put them in a salad. Oh, and top them with feta, obviously. I’m still going to call them fries though. Because fries just have a way of attracting people.

Baked Sweet Potato Fry Salad with Feta:

• 3 medium sweet potatoes
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• ATHENOS Feta Cheese
• Whatever salad fixings you want… I used spinach (but didn’t photograph it because my thought process was so random).

Have you ever made sweet potato fries/thins before? They’re super easy and I highly recommend them. Normally I would use a mandoline to slice them, but I cut them by hand this time so you can see how easy it is.

First peel the potatoes. of course, I love my Chef’n Palm Peeler.

Once it’s peeled, cut off the ends.

Now, slice the potato in half the long way.

And then just cut slices along the side of the potato and you’ll end up with these:

You can try to make them all uniform shape or you can not worry so much about it. I like the variety of different sizes/widths. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then coat and mix with olive oil.

I baked my sweet potato thins at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Then I took them out of the oven, turned them all over (with tongs) and put them back in the oven for 10 minutes.

As you can see, I like my sweet potato fries a little burnt. Sweet potatoes most definitely do not crisp up like regular potatoes (especially since we’re baking and not frying them), so I like to try my best to crisp them a little more.

You could most obviously eat them just like this. With ketchup if you like (I am a ketchup fiend!!).

I put mine over a bed of spinach and sprinkled some ATHENOS Feta on top.

I also drizzled a little balsamic vinaigrette on my salad once i served it. This was seriously an awesomely unique take on a salad. I loved that it was different, but still very simple and fresh.

Of course, if you’re not into the whole salad thing, you could melt some feta on your sweet potato fries, for some wicked awesome cheesy fries. And I’m sure that would also be just perfect. But, you know, have some spinach on the side for the nutrient-factor.

I paired this salad with an easy swordfish with citrus pesto, which I’ll post for you later today (we don’t want to give you salad overload here at WANM!).

Feta Friday Giveaway:

Since it’s Friday (YAY! WOOT!) we’re holding another Feta Friday Giveaway. Here’s the sweet prize pack you could win:

• Free ATHENOS Feta coupon

• 1-month membership to LIfeTime Fitness

• ATHENOS Feta water bottle

• ATHENOS Feta recipe booklet

• Fit & Fresh Salad Container

• Built NY Lunch Bag

To enter, just leave a comment on this post letting us know what you’ll be cooking/eating this weekend by Tuesday at 11:59 p.m.! Blog and tweet about the giveaway for extra entries!

Happy weekend!!

[Sues]

1) Dwight Schrute on The Office. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica..

2) Doug Funny’s favorite band. You know, Killer Tofu.

3) Deliciousness.

#3 is all you really need to know for all intents and purposes of this post.

I just want to say that Athenos Summer Salad Month could not have come at a better time. At practically 100 degrees here in Boston, salads are definitely all I want to eat! OK, so this salad required me turning on my oven to 400 degrees (omg death), but it was worth it. Especially since I know just what I’m going to have for a snack today on this still sweltering afternoon.

Roasted Beet Salad with Feta and Mint:

• A bunch of beets (4-6)
• 3 T olive oil
• Sea salt
• 1/2 C fresh mint, chopped
• 1/2 C crumbled feta cheese (I used Athenos Black Peppercorn Feta)
• 2 t lemon zest
• 1 T maple syrup

This was actually my very first time preparing beets! I was kind of excited, and now I have a feeling I’ll be making them quite often because they’re just so delicious.

I covered the beets in olive oil (about 2 T of the 3) and sea salt and then I wrapped each of them in foil.

Then I set my oven to 400 degrees (ughhhhh) and roasted the beets for about an hour.

I let them cool for a bit. And then under cold running water, I peeled the skins off.

Call me crazy, but I love doing stuff like that. Give me some peppers to roast and peel the skin off of and I’m a happy girl. Beets were just as fun.

I chopped the beets into bite-sized pieces, and mixed them with the feta, mint, lemon zest, 1 T olive oil, and maple syrup.

Annnd perfect (and like the easiest thing ever)! I was kind of annoyed because my mint actually froze in the fridge (yes, froze! the fridge is on a medium setting, so I have no idea why it did this). So, when it thawed it was all non-fresh looking and watery. But still delicious. It happened to my basil, too. Which I was planning on making pesto with later this week. Wah wah.

You can serve this salad right away, but I liked it best after it sat in the fridge for a while- it cooled down and all the flavors melded together. Yummmm. Beets really just taste like summer to me. And they’re one of the prettiest foods ever.

Next time I’ll be utilizing the beet greens, too (so healthy!). But it’s so hot here, that after 5 minutes out of the fridge, they looked all wilty and sad.

Do you like beets? How do you like them prepared?

[Sues]