Columbian Wheatberries Dish

OK so this has got to be one of my most prized recipes. I love this dish! I could eat it every night if only it wasn't gone the second I make it. And the creation of this recipe is kind of a funny story. In my US History class at the beginning of first term, we were asked to do a project inorder to understand the Columbian Exchange more. The point of the project was to show how different our lives would be without the Columbian Exchange, which intermingled all of the different foods because of the migration of settlers. The idea was that without the Columbian Exchange, we wouldn't have European/Asian/African foods such as wheat, carrots, garlic, olives, grapes, onions, poultry, etc. My teacher gave us a list of foods that originated in the Americas, and a list of foods that came from the other side of the world, Europe/Asia/Africa. We were to pick one list and make a dish with ONLY foods from that list. While everyone else in my class moaned and groaned, I snickered to myself and decided that this had to be the best project that I had ever been asked to do. Somehow, through it all I came up with this delicious meal. Oh! And please don't be confused. When I name this dish Columbian Wheatberries, it is not because it has any ties to the South American country of Columbia. :) Well, now that I have that cleared up, let's continue with the food. (How 'bout that?! You even got a miniture History lesson for the day!)





*Plan ahead to soak your wheatberries overnight. Also, plan on putting your chicken in a slow-cooker the morning of the day you plan on making this dish*
Ingredients:

• two boneless, skinless chicken breasts (i usually check the ingredients on whatever package of chicken I am getting to insure that the only ingredient is chicken and there are no additives such as corn syrup solids or maltodextrin)
• 3 cups water or low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2-1/2 cups cooked soft wheatberries (wheat kernels)
• 1-1/2 to 2 cups chopped carrots (depending on how carrot rich you want it)
• 1/2 small yellow onion
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup shredded mozarella cheese (again check the ingredients for things like powdered cellulose and other preservatives/anti-caking agents. I usually just get a block of cheese and shred it myself. It usually contains natural ingredients that way)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground clove
• 1-1/2 teaspoons thyme
• ground pepper to taste

The morning that you plan on making this dish, pull out your crock pot and set it on high. Fill it with either your water or low-sodium broth. Place your thawed out chicken breasts in along with thyme and pepper. An hour before you want to eat, place your soaked wheatberries in a boiling pan of water. Cook the wheatberries for one hour. Fifteen minutes before you want to eat, heat up your olive oil in a very large frying pan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and sautee your onions and carrots together until both are tender. Once your berries are done, combine the berries in the frying pan. Drain your slow-cooked chicken of any excess water/broth and place the chicken in the pan with the wheatberry mixture. Stir in the ground cloves and top with cheese. Cover with lid for 5-10 minutes over very low heat. Then you are done my friend. Oh and one more thing! Serve with a smile on your face! Enjoy your day. :D