Wheat Berry Chili

You might have heard me refer to that man I live with, "the love of my life" or sometimes he might be referred to as "the pickiest eater on the planet".  Yeah same dude.  So here's the thing, the man who won't eat food if it's not naked (no sauces, creams, cheese or toppings), likes what he likes. And for a picky eater, sometimes I am surprised at what he likes.  I am currently sprouting wheat berries in my kitchen, and every time I fail and throw away the bloated kernels, he reminds me that he likes puffed wheat.  Ok good.  I just happen to have 29 5 gallon buckets of wheat in storage.  So this is what inspired today's meal.  Wheat.

and since I rarely plan ahead, I pulled out (cough cough, since it lives on the counter at all times) my trusty pressure cooker.   I decided I "knew" how to puff my wheat without checking any directions and off I went.  While my wheat was being pressured, I did check directions and found quite the discrepancy in various directions.  The first told me to pressure on low for 45 minutes.  The 2nd said 7 minutes on high.  The 3rd said 30 minutes, 10 natural release and quick after that.  Since I had already set my cooker to 20 minutes, I opted to leave it as it was and decide after if I needed more time.  SCORE!! It was just a chewy as we like.  I cooked on high for 20 minutes, natural release for 10 and quick release after that.

Wheat Berry Chili

2 c white wheat berries (or whatever you have open in your food storage)

4 c water

1 tsp salt

1 glurg olive oil or pat of butter. Whatever cooking fat you have available.  This keeps the berries from foaming and spitting at you once you release the rest of the pressure.

Pressure 20 minutes, natural release 10 minutes, quick thereafter.

While wheat is pressuring, on the stovetop brown

3/4 c chopped onion and celery (I have this wonderful seasoning mix I get in the freezer section at the grocery that is always in my freezer for quick meals)

1 lb hamburger.  

season with salt and pepper

Brown meat and vegetables.  Drain if you bought the cheap meat like I did...

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 can mexican style corn

2 tbs tobacco style hot sauce.

Drain the corn.  Mix all cans with the meat.

After draining the excess water from the cooked wheat berries, add the meat mixture to the wheat.  Mine was a little dry, so I added a can of V8 spicy to the mix.

I will serve with soft white rolls and a dollop of sour cream on top (because sour cream makes everything even better than it is already)  And probably some grated cheese.  Because hello, cheese and sour cream...

This makes enough for 2 grown adults who will be starving after 3 hours of church that doesn't start until 2:30, and plenty of leftovers for lunch next week.

:-)