Picadillo Colombiano

This is my rendition of Picadillo Cubano, which I call Colombian because my beau is Colombian.  This is not my recipe, but as usual, I modified to my liking and ingredients on hand.  My 9 year old commented, ¨Mommy!  There is wine in the food?¨ I did not have any wine, so I used chicken stock instead.  He ate enough for 2 adults and wanted more, but I held him back.  Both the kids enjoyed the meal as us adults, with enough leftovers for one more meal.

It is reasonably easy to make, but if you don´t like Spanish olives, leave these out and don´t waste your money.  Though I do not care for olives, these stuff Spanish olives added some great flavor to this dish.

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs ground sirloin, about 85% or more, drain after cooking
• 1 Tablespoon cumin
• 2/3 Tablespoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 3 Tablespoons garlic, minced
• sea salt & ground pepper, to taste
• 1 3/4 cup tomato sauce
• 2-3 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 1/4 cup chicken brother
• 3/4 cup stuffed Spanish olives, halved
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

• The original recipe calls for browning the ground beef in olive oil.  I found this unnecessary as the ground sirloin had enough fat already, but if you are using a ceramic pan like I was, you can get away with reducing oil needed to keep the pan from sticking, as this can act like a teflon pan without the toxic leaching in the the foods.
• Break up the meat with your hands and brown the meat.  
• Add the seasonings, stir well.
• Add the onion, green bell pepper and garlic.  Stir well.
• Add the salt & pepper.  Stir well again.  Cook for 10 min., stirring occasionally.
• Add the remaining ingredients.  Stir well.  Cover and reduce heat down to low.  Cook for 30 min, stirring occasionally.
• Serve over rice.  I used basmati rice seasoned with tumeric (my fave), sea salt, chicken stock, and green onions.
• Note:  To make this Paleo friendly, you can replace the rice with cauli-rice.