Bulgar Wheat

Quick version:

Cook bulgar wheat in chicken broth with pepper and garlic cloves.

Sautee big carrot slices and broccoli with salt, pepper, sazón Goya, just enough so they're not raw; don't let them get soft.

At the last minute add bean sprouts and some garlic to the pan.

Mix everything together at end.

More ambitious version:

Ingredients:
  1. Put olive oil in cooking pot, heat it, and then add the bulgar wheat, stir it around with wooden spatula until it gets a bit toasted.
  2. Add 2 cups chicken broth, stir, bring to boil, then cover and simmer 12-15 minutes.
  3. While the wheat is simmering, scrape the carrots, peel the yam and the batata.
  4. Cut all of those into 3/4-inch chunks.
  5. Pull the cauliflower apart, keeping the leaves and the stem. Slice the thick parts.
  6. Put olive oil in the big stock pot with thick bottom, put on high heat, and throw all of the above. Put salt and ground pepper, stir around with wooden spatula to get everything coated. While doing the next part, come back and stir from time to time so everything browns but nothing burns.
  7. Then turn off the flame under the big pot while you do the next parts.
  8. Scrub the red peppers and cut into 3/4-inch squares.
  9. Put olive oil in a big frying pan, put on high heat, put in the peppers, add salt, ground pepper, and an envelope of Sazón Goya. Sautee until there are some black parts, then dump them into the other pot.
  10. Now put the sliced mushrooms in the same pan and sautee them. Add salt, ground pepper, another envelope of Sazón Goya. Don't let them get soft, just make sure they are browned. At the last minute put some white wine (or chicken broth) and throw in some of the garlic slices for just a few seconds (don't ever let garlic burn). Then dump the mushrooms into the big pot.
  11. When the kitchen timer goes off, check the bulgar wheat. If there is liquid left, give it another minute or two but keep an eye on it. When the liquid is gone (but before it burns!), turn off the heat, un-chunk it, chop it up, fluff it, etc, so it doesn't form a big clump. Then just let it sit until needed.
  12. Throw the broccoli into the big pot (the broccoli goes in last so it won't get mushy). Add some chicken broth, stir everything up with the wooden spatula, and turn on a low flame. Taste and adjust seasoning. Then cover.
  13. Put the steak in the same frying pan with high heat. Season with salt and ground pepper. It only needs to be sauteed for about a minute. At the end throw in the rest of the garlic slices but don't let them burn.
  14. Dump the steak in the big pot, with all juices and garlic from the frying pan, mix everything well, give it a taste. If it seems bland, add a few dashes of Worcestershire and some Tamari, mix and taste again. Check the carrots, batata, cauliflower, etc, to see if they are still too hard. If so, let the pot simmer some more, covered. The important thing is to keep all the vegetables from turning into mush. Turn off the heat while the vegetables are ALMOST cooked, because it will continue to cook by itself a little more from its own heat.
  15. After turning off the heat, mix in the bulgar wheat.
Yield: 8 dinners, about 16 ounces each. Hint: put them in those plastic single-serving Chinese takeout containers. Then just pop each one in the microwave when it's time to eat.

WHY STRIP STEAK? Because it's not "plumped" with water and animal by-products, like chicken is, nor with Pink Slime, like ground beef. It's lean, pretty cheap, and cooks fast. This recipe would be good with chicken or ground beef that was additive-free, if you could find it.