1/2 yellow onion
1 green bell pepper, chopped finely
1 bunch green onions, chopped finely
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped finely
1 T minced garlic
2-3 fresh tomatoes on the vine, finely
1 (8 oz) bottle zesty Italian dressing
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 bunch chopped fresh cilantro, finely
1/2 cup dried black beans (or a can of beans if you’d rather)
1/2 cup dried white beans (or a can of beans if you’d rather)
1/2 cup wheat (to make into wheat berries)
1. Rinse and drain the black and white beans. Place in slow cooker (I did mine in separate slow cookers so that the white beans wouldn’t look gray). Add 4 cups water (to each slow cooker). Cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours, or until tender and cooked through. (My black beans cooked quicker than the white beans).
2. The wheat needs to be cooked as well. Add it to a slow cooker with 4 cups of water and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours. You can prepare these all ahead of time. When the wheat and beans are cooked, drain off all the water. In a large bowl combine the beans, wheat berries, and all the remaining ingredients. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours before serving. Serve with tortilla chips as a fresh salsa.
2. The wheat needs to be cooked as well. Add it to a slow cooker with 4 cups of water and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours. You can prepare these all ahead of time. When the wheat and beans are cooked, drain off all the water. In a large bowl combine the beans, wheat berries, and all the remaining ingredients. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours before serving. Serve with tortilla chips as a fresh salsa.
Review:
This is one of my all time favorite recipes. I changed it up a bit to use the slow cooker. Usually, I would just use canned beans but in an attempt to make it cheaper and use some food storage I have made it with dried beans. The dried beans cook great in the slow cooker. I never soak mine but people tell me that when you soak the beans some of the gas is released…so if you want to soak you can (if you don’t care about being gaseous then do it my way 🙂 I also added wheatberries (a.k.a. cooked wheat) to my recipe. This adds a little texture and some extra fiber and nutrients. It’s totally optional but I liked it…and again I used my food storage. All in all, this is pretty much the most addicting salsa type food in the world. It is so good and it is great to bring to barbecues and potlucks. You’ll be asked for the recipe, I guarantee it. And then you can enthusiastically tell them about my blog and how it has changed your life (for the better, or course). Enjoy! 5 stars.
I had to re-read this recipe about 4 times before I could make sense of it.
So basically, the crock pot is used to cook the beans ( if using dried) and the WheatBerries. So if you do as instructed, you will need 3 crock pots to cook all the beans and grain Once cooked, they are added to the other ingredients and chilled. The entire recipe does not get cooked in the slow cooker.
For those who are not familiar, wheatberries refer to the entire wheat kernal except the hull. They come in a bag either with the bulk grains or sometimes in the ethnic food section. uncooked, they are hard like rice. Once cooked, they are nutty and sort of pop in your mouth when you eat them. They are delightful in a salad!
honeslty, the crockpot being used in this preparation, for me.. creates more steps than necessary and just complicates things~ Just my opionion.. not being critical
oh sorry.
When I say wheatberries, I just mean the cooked wheat.
Just take uncooked wheat (you can find in the bulk section of your grocery store), place in a slow cooker. Cover with water. Cook on HIGH for about 4 hours or on LOW for about 6-8. Should be tender and chewy. Add it to the rest of the ingredients.
This sounds like a great recipe my hubby will love. But, I have no idea what you are talking about or how to make wheat berries. Please explain so I can make this for him.
Please help. Would like to make but do not understand about the wheat and berries. Where do I find these things??????
you should always boil and soak your beans before cooking them in a slow-cooker because they contain a natural toxin that is destroyed by boiling them. only certain beans have it, kidney beans for sure, not sure of the others. just boil and soak before, just to be safe!