Wheat Berry Chili

When I was looking at other food blogs the other day, I saw that Tami from Running with Tweezers was hosting a chili cook-off. I got so excited! I love chili and this is such a great time of year to make it. And it was a break from making cookies!

I was raised in a vegetarian family. I never became a vegetarian, but a lot of my food tastes tend to be vegetarian (even though I do enjoy a good steak every once in a while!). I went to a party about nine months and they were serving about seven different varieties of chili. There was white bean chicken chili, mild chili, hot chili, venison chili, and a wheat berry chili. Curious, I tried it and was so surprised by how spicy it was! The wheat berries really made it a hearty chili while it still retained a lot of the characteristics of a meat chili. I knew I needed the recipe and asked for it. This recipe is from Eating Well and is delicious.

I had never worked with wheat berries and I am not sure why. They are great. They take a while to cook, but once you do you can freeze the leftovers for use later. I freeze them in 2 cup bags. I top this chili with some shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream. I hope you try it because you will love it and you won't ever miss the meat!

Zesty Wheat Berry-Black Bean Chili

From Eating Well

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 large yellow bell pepper, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed

2 14-ounce cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained

1-2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced

2 cups vegetable broth

2 teaspoons light brown sugar

2 cups Cooked Wheat Berries

Juice of 1 lime

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, chipotle to taste, broth and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes.

Stir in cooked wheat berries and heat through, about 5 minutes more. (If using frozen wheat berries, cook until thoroughly heated.) Remove from the heat. Stir in lime juice.