Picadillo

Another one of my hubby's favorite dishes! Although we don't eat the traditional version that is both savory and sweet. I make it savory and spicy with homemade french fries and a little heat from hot sauce! I also make it with 90% lean ground beef to cut down on the fat and it becomes a delicious, quick weekday dinner served with rice and a vegetable.

1 lb 90% lean ground beef

1/4 cup Olive Oil

Sofrito (1/2 onion, 1/2 green pepper and 3 cloves of garlic)

1/4 cup White Wine

1/2 cup Tomato Sauce

Splash of Hot Sauce (We like Goya)

Splash of Worcestershire Sauce

1 Bay Leaf

1 package Goya Sazon

2 small potatoes

Vegetable oil (to fry potatoes)

Salt and Pepper to taste

optional:

1/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup stuffed olives chopped up

Remove ground beef from refrigerator and cut up vegetables for sofrito.  Warm olive oil over medium heat and saute onion, pepper and garlic once oil is fragrant. Season sofrito with salt and pepper and add ground beef to brown with vegetables.

Season beef with salt and pepper and add tomato sauce, wine, bay leaf and Goya sazon once beef is browned. Add a splash of worcestershire sauce and a generous splash of hot sauce and cook uncovered for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, peel and cut two small potatoes and fry over medium high heat in small skillet pan. (If I am in a big hurry, I bake ready made french fries and chop them up before I add. They are not quite as good as the homemade version but they do the job in a pinch.) Add potatoes once golden brown and taste for salt and pepper. If I was making the traditional version, I would also add the raisins and olives now - but we prefer to leave them out.

Mix well and cook another 15 minutes until the liquid is absorbed into the meat and potatoes.

I serve the picadillo with white rice and a vegetable.

Enjoy!!! Also makes a great filling for empanadas...