Tap Influence

Tomato Tart Recipe

536 · May 27, 2016 · 7 Comments

+ This Tomato Tart Recipe brought to you by the folks at Bushel Boy Farms™ +

One of the first things that I think of when it comes to summer cooking is my favorite TOMATO!

I think I’ve said this before, but I LOVE tomatoes!

A few weeks ago, I shared a lovely Tomato Jam recipe that is perfect for those BLT’s, burgers, wraps… Pretty much anything that you want to add a little kick of tomato to.

The key is getting really good tomatoes!

Because of that, I was thrilled to find out about Bushel Boy Tomatoes™ grown right here in the USA, in Minnesota to be exact.

The crew at Bushel Boy has developed a fabulous greenhouse system that helps them grow tomatoes year-round. Yep, even in January they have beautiful red, vine ripened tomatoes ready for us to add to our salads and sandwiches. I don’t know about you, but a nice good tomato in January is pretty awesome!

The Bushel Boy Tomatoes are pollinated with bees… the natural way. They also limit the amount of pesticides used and have eliminated herbicides all together. You can find all kinds of tasty ideas at the Bushel Boy Facebook.

Today, I’m sharing a fantastic Tomato Tart that is perfect for a light lunch or dinner. Paired with a nice garden salad, it’s the perfect summer meal!

You can make them as individual tarts or make one large tart for everyone to share.

Here is a quick video to show you how I make them…

Tomato Tart from WhipperBerry from Heather Thoming on Vimeo.

Tomato Tart Recipe

Save Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

40 mins

This scrumptious tomato tart is the perfect light summer meal!

Author: Heather // WhipperBerry

Recipe type: Light Meal

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

2-3 Bushel Boy Tomatoes
1 store bought pie crust
1 egg
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup chive cream cheese
½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
salt & pepper
chives

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450˚
Line your tart pan or baking pan with the pie crust, gently press down on the top of the pan to remove excess dough.
Pierce the the dough with a fork and place in a 450˚ oven for 8 minutes.
Remove tart shell from the oven and let cool for a few minutes.
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg then combine the ricotta cheese, chive cream cheese, ½ of the parmesan cheese, salt & pepper.
Fill tart or tarts with the cheese mixture.
Top the tart or tarts with fresh sliced tomatoes.
Season the tomatoes with salt & pepper and then top with parmesan cheese.
Place in a 400˚ oven for 30 minutes for a large tart and 20 minutes for small tarts.
Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes, then serve with a nice garden salad.

Peaches and Cream Iced Tea

5 · May 20, 2016 · Leave a Comment

+ This Peaches and Cream Iced Tea recipe is brought to you by International Delight +

Spring is in full bloom here in Lincoln. I’ve been having fun tending all of my new plants for this season. I’m a fairly novice gardener but, I’m giving it a good go. For years I’ve killed everything that I get my hands on. My husband will say when I walk in the door with new plants, “Are these this years victims?” NICE! This year I am determined to develop a green thumb! I will have fresh home grown tomatoes darn it!!

To me when I’m working out in the yard in the warm Spring and Summer sun the first thing that comes to mind is… “What refreshing drink shall we have!”

I grew up with a Father who loved peaches and let’s just say the peach didn’t fall too far from the tree. I’ve become a bit obsessed with peach lately. A few weeks ago I told you about a fun little concoction that I came up with for a Peach Melba Italian Soda and today, I want to share my Peaches and Cream Iced Tea.

When I was a kid, every once in a while when we would have a bunch of really good summer peaches, my Dad would cut up a couple of the juicy gems and put them in a bowl. Then he would pour a little bit of cream over the top and share this treat with me. It didn’t happen often, but when it did… My oh my, I was in heaven!

Now we are not currently in the hight of peach season BUT, I thought it would be fun to brew-up some herbal peach tea and create my own peaches and cream treat with the help of International Delight French Vanilla creamer…

All you need is your favorite peach tea, I like Celestial Seasonings Country Peach Passion and a tall glass of ice.

Fill your glass with the tea and then add a generous splash of International Delight French Vanilla Creamer.

Stir and enjoy! The I.D. gives the peach tea a little sweet pick me up with a smooth creamy finish. It’s lovely!

Perfect for those days of wrestling with Mother Nature… I will tame this garden this year!

For more great I.D. recipes and ideas sign-up for their newsletter or follow them on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.

Roasted Poblano and Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe + Chopped At Home Challenge

12 · May 17, 2016 ·

+ This Roasted Poblano and Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe brought to you by Food Networks Chopped & Sargento +

What I have for you today is, a Roasted Poblano and Chicken Tortilla Soup topped with a fresh avocado, tomato and lime salsa and Sargento® Fine Cut Shredded 4 Cheese Mexican Blend…

Do those words sound familiar?

If they do, you must be a fan of the Food Network and the fan favorite show, Chopped. I’ve been a Food Network fan for years and have dreamed of saying those words. The thrill of opening that basket full of crazy ingredients. The panic of trying to figure out what to create and the nail biter at the end… Who’s plate is on the chopping block?

You can forget extreme sports or bungee jumping for me, my thrill seeking experience would be on the set of Chopped! When the folks at Chopped and Sargento came to me and asked if I would participate in Round Two of the At Home Chopped Challenge… You know I was thrilled to participate!

This round, the theme is Mexican. What’s in the basket you ask?

When I saw those ingredients, Sargento® 4 Cheese Mexican Blend, chicken thighs, Poblano peppers and corn tortillas, my first thought was tortilla soup. One of my favorite soups of all times is Tortilla Soup. However, that can mean a million different things to different people. I have had at least 25 different variations on Tortilla Soup. Some have a tomato broth base while others have a lovely chicken broth base full of spices. It can be packed full of veggies or just broth, chicken and tortillas. Some have been topped with all kinds of great garnishes like avocados, tomatoes, sour cream and the like. I decided it was high time for me to try my hand at creating my very own tortilla soup recipe and this was the perfect opportunity!

My soup was going to have a deep rich chicken broth full of cumin, Mexican oregano, chili flakes & Harissa. I was going to brown my chicken thighs in a cast iron skillet and then finish in the oven for a flavorful chicken and I was going to roast the Poblano peppers to deepen the pepper flavor. This was going to be my idea of the perfect Tortilla Soup… Roasted Poblano and Chicken Tortilla Soup! Here’s the recipe…

Roasted Poblano and Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

Save Print

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 15 mins

A beautiful take on the classic Tortilla Soup perfect for any occasion.

Author: Heather // WhipperBerry

Cuisine: Soup

Serves: 10-12 servings

Ingredients

6 skinless chicken thighs
2 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 Poblano peppers
1 large onion chopped
4 cloves of minced garlic
3 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon chili flakes
2-3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon Harissa
12 cups chicken broth
2 15.5 oz cans of white hominy
salt to taste
+ GARNISH +
10 corn tortillas
1 cup vegetable oil
salt
Sargento® Shredded 4 Cheese Mexican Blend
2 avocados
2 cups of quartered grape or cherry tomatoes
2 green onions chopped
1 lime - juiced
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 400˚
In a large heavy bottomed pan heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat.
Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper and place in the hot pan. Turn down the heat to medium.
Cook the chicken on one side for 4-5 minutes or until nicely browned.
Turn and place in the oven for another 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and set-aside.
In a dry cast-iron or heavy pan, place the Poblano pepper over high heat. Let the skin blister and blacken on all sides.
Remove the peppers from the pan and place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, let cool for 10 minutes then gently pull the charred skin off and discard. Cut peppers into large bite-sized pieces and set aside.
In a large pot over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and the chopped onion. Cook for 3-4 minutes and add garlic cook for another minute.
Add the cumin, oregano, chili flakes and Harissa powder and cook for another minute.
Add chicken stock and bring the up the temperature to medium high and let stock simmer for 20 minutes.
Clean-up the chicken thighs by removing from bones and remove any remaining fat. Chop or shred into bite-size pieces.
Add the chicken, hominy & pepper to the pot. Cook for 1-2 more minutes and then remove from the heat.
+ Tortilla Strips +
In a medium cast iron or heavy bottomed pan over medium high heat, add your vegetable oil.
Cut corn tortillas into thin strips and add to the hot oil in small batches.
Cook for 1-2 minutes until they start to turn a light brown.
Remove from heat and place on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt
Set aside until ready to serve the soup.
+ Tomato & Avocado Salsa +
In a small bowl, add quartered tomatoes, diced avocado, green onion, salt & pepper and the juice from one lime. Stir until combined.
Serve soup hot with a nice layer of Sargento® shredded 4 Cheese Mexican Blend topped with tortilla strips and the tomato & avocado salsa.

Chicken Tortilla Soup from WhipperBerry-1

Now of course you can add all kinds of cilantro if you’d like as well. We aren’t big cilantro fans at our house so I tend to leave that out, but it’s totally up to you and your taste.

You know what’s super cool!

YOU can enter the Chopped At Home Challenge for a chance to WIN $10,000 + a Trip to New York to have a private cooking lesson at the Food Network Kitchens.

Ummmm, sign me up! That’s the coolest prize EVER!!

All you need to do is Submit your recipe to FoodNetwork.com/ChoppedChallenge for the chance to win $5,000 and a trip to New York City to compete in a televised Chopped cooking challenge for a $10,000 grand prize.

You don’t want to delay… Phase 2 Entry 4/25/16 at 9am – 5/23/16 at 9am with voting 5/23/16 at 9am – 6/13/16 at 5pm

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sargento. The opinions and text are all mine.

Tomato Jam Recipe + GIVEAWAY

6 · Apr 28, 2016 · 12 Comments

My earliest food memories are of tomatoes…

No joke! One of my earliest memories is picking a tomato from the vine out of my Dad’s garden. I was two and a half or three and sat down and ate those scrumptious tomatoes right then and there. I remember the smell that fills the air when you pull the tomato from the vine. It’s earthy with a hint of grass and a promise of good things to come. I remember, even as a three year old, eating that tomato that was still warm from the heat of the day… magical!

From that point forward I wanted tomato on EVERYTHING!

I remember refusing to eat tacos one night because my Mom had forgotten to get tomatoes from the store. Yep, I would rather go without the taco if it was missing my favorite tomatoes. I was six or seven at the time, but I still have the same feelings as an adult… I just have to act like an adult and not throw a fit.

Tomatoes are truly one of my favorite foods.

Because of that, I was thrilled to find out about Bushel Boy Tomatoes™ grown right here in the USA, in Minnesota to be exact.

You can find all kinds of tasty ideas at the Bushel Boy Facebook.

The Bushel Boy Tomatoes are pollinated with bees… the natural way. They also limit the amount of pesticides used and have eliminated herbicides all together. They have worked really hard to create a tomato that takes me back to those magical days in my Dad’s garden.

One of my Dad’s favorite sandwiches of all time is the classic BLT… Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato. Being a tomato lover myself, it’s one of my favorites too. A few years ago my husband and I were at a restaurant and we were introduced to tomato jam. When I read about it on the menu my mind was blown and I couldn’t wait to make my own.

Tomato Jam is both savory and sweet at the same time. It cooks down those flavorful tomatoes into a virtual tomato bomb that really enhances all kinds of sandwiches or appetizers.

You know when you’ve eaten something transcending at a restaurant and wished that you could duplicate that kind of flavor at home, that is what tomato jam does. It takes your normal BLT and kicks it up SEVERAL notches.

The best part… It’s SUPER EASY to make!

This recipe is inspired by Mark Bittman’s Tomato Jam recipe. Tomato Jam is perfect for a high end BLT appetizer OR just your everyday BLT sandwich that we all love. I’ll show you how to make both.

Tomato Jam Recipe

5.0 from 1 reviews

Tomato Jam

Save Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

1 hour 15 mins

Total time

1 hour 25 mins

Tomato Jam is perfect to add a little kick to your sandwiches & appetizers.

Author: Heather // WhipperBerry

Serves: 1 pint

Ingredients

1½ lbs. Bushel Boy Tomatoes
2-3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 small red onion
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 cloves
1 teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions

Wash tomatoes
Cut in quarters and remove seeds then give them a rough chop.
Add to a medium, heavy bottom sauce pot and place over high heat.
Add remaining ingredients and let tomatoes come to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer, stirring occasionally for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until it's nice and thick like jam. You should be able to run a spoon down the center of the pot and the jam will stay in place.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Place in a jar, refrigerate for up to one week.

First, wash and prep your tomatoes.

Cut tomatoes in quarter and remove the seeds.

Give them a rough chop.

Add the rest of your ingredients and place over high heat until it comes to a boil, then reduce to medium-low to simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes stirring occasionally.