Picadillo (and the Tiny Distraction in Our Family)

Name: Picadillo
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 10 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef; 1 pound ground pork; 1 cup chopped onions (I always used frozen onions); 1 cup chopped red bell peppers (can sub pimientos); 1-14 ounce can whole tomatoes; 1 6-ounce can tomato paste; 1/2 cup jarred, pickled, jalapenos, chopped; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 cup raisins; 1 cup slivered almonds (I like them toasted); 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 1 teaspoon dried leaf oregano; 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce (optional, but good if you walk on the spicy side); Salt and pepper; 1/2 to 1 cup water

September 14, 2012

A simple but versatile recipe for Picadillo composed of ground beef and ground pork, almonds, tomatoes, raisins and other seasonings. Makes a great dip, salad topping, or entree over rice.

If you’re Cuban, Phillipino, or from another Latin American country, you probably recognize Picadillo (pee-kah-DEE-yoh) as a traditional dish. I suspect it may be like chili in America. Because it is so popular, everybody makes it, and everybody has their own version according to their country of origin and the way their mama did it.

From what I hear, Picadillo often contains green olives, but mine does not. On the other hand, my version includes raisins and almonds which are optional. Spices seem to vary widely from recipe to recipe, as you can imagine.

Picadillo served in a taco shell over lettuce with avocados

Try pouring Picadillo over lettuce instead of salad dressing.

I like to make a big batch of picadillo and freeze it in smaller portions to use in burritos or to pour over my salad-in-a-jar instead of salad dressing. Or, try making the baked shells seen above with instructions here, filling them with lettuce and then a few spoonfuls of picadillo, topped with tomatoes and avocados, if desired. Lately, I’ve taken to pouring picadillo over Recipe Girl’s coconut rice, or my own Cilantro and Hominy Rice.

Picadillo over Coconut Rice

I’ve been a tiny bit distracted here lately by the little punkin pictured below. As a result, my stock of frozen Picadillo has gotten low. Perhaps you can understand.

Piper Elyse is my first granddaughter and a perfect blessing from God. Parents are Brett and Amanda Rhodes. Born 9/7/2012

Picadillo

Yield: 10 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Divide this into smaller portions and freeze. Fabulous for burritos, salads and served over rice.

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 cup chopped onions (I always used frozen onions)
1 cup chopped red bell peppers (can sub pimientos)
1-14 ounce can whole tomatoes
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1/2 cup jarred, pickled, jalapenos, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup raisins
1 cup slivered almonds (I like them toasted)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried leaf oregano
1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce (optional, but good if you walk on the spicy side)
Salt and pepper
1/2 to 1 cup water

Instructions

Brown ground meat. Drain off fat.
Add onions and red bell peppers. Continue to saute for a couple minutes.
Pour tomatoes over meat mixture. Break up tomatoes with wooden spoon. (It's not a sin to use diced tomatoes if you prefer.)
Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 20-30 minutes.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 488 Total Fat: 27g Saturated Fat: 8g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 16g Cholesterol: 100mg Sodium: 394mg Carbohydrates: 30g Fiber: 4g Sugar: 15g Protein: 33g

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