More Wheat Berry Recipes

I have been getting lots of requests for more wheat berry recipes.  I made a crock pot of wheat berries and decided to cook up some new recipes to share.

Need to know how to make wheat berries from the whole wheat kernels? Go Here.

The recipes I cooked up today are:

Cheesy Wheat Berry Burgers

Wheat Berry Pudding
 

Cheesy Wheat Berry Burgers

2 lbs ground beef

1 cup wheat berries, cooked

1 cup shredded cheese

1/4 cup BBQ sauce

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.  Form into burgers by grabbing a hunk, squishing it into a patty and running your thumb around the edges to squish any cracked parts back together.  

Slap them on the grill (I cheated and used the indoor grill).  Grill until they reach your desired "doneness". 

We sprinkled a little more cheese on, thru them on top of a salad and topped it off with some avocado slices! Divine!

And we MUST have dessert!

Wheat Berry Pudding

This pudding rocks and I love the little bit of chewiness that the wheat berries give it.  I love Irish Oatmeal or Steel Cut Oats because of the chewiness.  This is similar.

(this picture stinks... it DOES taste 100x better than it looks)

4 cups wheat berries, cooked

3 1/2 cups whole milk

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 ts cinnamon

1 tbsp pure vanilla

2 tbsp salted butter

1 tbsp lemon juice

Put all ingredients into a pot.  Simmer on med-low for about 40-50 minutes.  Stir occasionally to prevent   pudding from sticking to the bottom and to prevent boiling over.

Pour pudding into bowls or Tupperware to cool.  It will thicken as it cools, so don't be worried if it is still pretty runny when you transfer it over.  It is supposed to be!

Cool, then put lids on the put in the fridge.  We like it best when it is cold!  Nothing like a good cold pudding.

I found some more amazing wheat berry recipes HERE at Joseph's Grainery.  I can't wait to try them all!!!

Kraut Burgers - Beirocks

This is a wonderful recipe that is traditional in my family. We call them "Kraut Burgers" but many others call them "Beirocks" (BEER-OCKS). This is a CHEAP and easy meal-in-one. Kids love these and don't believe they are eating cabbage. As you can see... my daughter LOVES these things!!!

To make this a little healthier for us... YES you guessed it.... I have used whole wheat flour for the dough. In fact, I simply use my Whole Wheat Pizza Dough recipe and it works wonderful.

Kraut Burgers

1 small head of cabbage

2 lbs of hamburger

1 batch of Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

garlic powder

onion powder or 1 onion, chopped

salt
pepper

brown gravy

Directions:

1) Make the Whole Wheat Pizza Dough and let it sit while you continue on.

2) Brown the hamburger in large skillet or pot.

3) Add the chopped cabbage (add onion if you choose to use it)

4) Cover and turn to low and let the cabbage steam. It will shink in volume considerably, so don't think you have too much cabbage in the pot. It will seem like a lot at first.

5) Add garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to your liking.

6) Separate the dough into 8 balls.

7) Roll out each ball and fill with cabbage burger mix.

8) Seal up the Kraut Burgers by folding over the dough and creating a "calzone" like ball.

9) Place on greased cookie sheet and let sit for about 15 minutes... they won't really raise much but it makes the dough softer.

10) Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

11) Make brown gravy while they are cooking

12) Cut open and pour in brown gravy!!! Mmmmm.... mine are cooking right now!!!

Source: Once again... some of the greatest Chefs I know: Grandma and Grandpa Brundage. I believe this recipe came from Great Grandma Dorthy Majer and higher up the family line.

Whole Wheat Hamburger Casserole

OK OK... I think I have been obsessing over whole wheat lately. But it is just so dang good tasting and good for you!!! Here is a new recipe I came up with that is really tasty and can practically be cooked out of your food storage. It is simple and yummy. This is the first recipe I have come up with using wheat berries*. I must say... I LOVE them and so did the family. This casserole tastes like along the lines of a meaty spaghetti sauce dish.

Look out for a recipe using wheat berries along the lines of asian!!! I will be experimenting this week.

AND those of you who don't have whole wheat kernels in your food storage... GET some!!! You can get a cheap-o coffee grinder to make whole wheat flour out of it and use the berries for lots of great stuff.

Whole Wheat Hamburger Casserole

2-3 c whole wheat berries*

1 lb hamburger

2 ts. garlic powder

1 ts cumin

1 ts chili powder

1 c onion

1 qt jar of tomatoes (dice them up a bit), drain about 1/2 the liquid.

1/2 c diced bell pepper

2 cups spaghetti sauce (or 2 8oz cans of tomato sauce)

1 small can chopped olives

2 cups grated cheese (I used mozza)

Brown the hamburger with the onions and bell peppers. Add the wheat berries and spices. Stir in tomatoes, sauce, and olives. Simmer for about 30 minutes to thicken. Place in greased casserole dish and top with cheese. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

*wheat berries: these are basically whole wheat kernels that are cooked. It is like cooking rice... only it takes longer. To make wheat berries, use 1 cup wheat kernels and 2 to 2 1/2 cups water in a crock pot on low over night. And VOILA... wheat berries!