Cracked Wheat Fried Rice

I got on this kick where I was making my own granola cereal for awhile.  Thanks to the Amish markets, I could buy gigantic bags of cracked wheat, wheat germ, etc at crazy low prices.  All well and good until two scoops into what seems like a 5 lb bag of cracked wheat, I got burned out and stopped eating granola.

I am a firm believer that the "guidelines" printed inside the lid of your freezer are just friendly suggestions. -clearly not meant for someone like myself who stashes a big bag of cracked wheat at the bottom and forgets about it.  The good? sad? scary? thing about moving is you have a pretty definitive idea of how long you have had something in your freezer, pantry, etc.  For example, I purchased my cracked wheat at an Amish market in Wisconsin, meaning it is at least a year old (and if I really probe, I seem to recall buying it while I was still attending college.).  Really?  Seems as if I just bought it yesterday....

I saw a recipe on foodgawker where a lady made an indian fried rice using cracked wheat instead of rice.  I was intrigued.  Yesterday I got brave and gave it a go

It turned out really good!  It was really close texturally, more like a short grain rice, but still good.  And the flavor was spot-on.

So, for those of you with giant bags of cracked wheat in their freezers, here is my (vague) recipe:

Start out by lightly scrambling your eggs.  I used 4 eggs and seasoned them with granulated garlic, a little hot curry, and some mesquite seasoning.  Don't cook them too long, and try to leave them in bigger chunks. Set aside.

In a fry pan, I diced 1/2 onion and chopped up about 4 smoked garlic cloves.  I fried them together with a generous amount of olive oil until onions were translucent.

Turn heat down to a medium low and add your seasonings.  I added:
2 Tblsp. garlic chili paste
2 Tblsp. Hoisin Sauce (thicker version of teriyaki sauce basically)
dash of Mongolian fire oil
2 Tblsp. Sesame oil
dash of liquid smoke

I realize that these aren't exactly common ingredients.  I would say it is critical you have atleast a teriyaki or hoisin, garlic, soy sauce (if you prefer), and either sesame seeds or sesame oil.

Once you have seasonings blended into your oil/onion/garlic mixture, add cracked wheat and water.  I added cracked wheat first, then slowly added in water.  I did almost equal ratios and ended up using 2 cups cracked wheat and 2 1/2 cups water.  Take into consideration the amount of water your veggies will have in them.  Turn up heat to at least a medium, cover pan with a lid and stir fairly often (but not constantly).  Once cracked wheat has softened, add veggies.  I just threw in a bag of frozen mixed vegetables.  You can add ham or bacon at this point to, if you wish. Then add your eggs.  Cook until veggies are soft.

I served mine with fresh chopped tomato and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Now, if I can only figure out how to use the equally huge bag of wheat germ.....