Cuban Picadillio

 I’m not Cuban, and I don’t play one on TV! Seriously, my family is best described as Heinz 57 from Northern European countries. But the other day I was channel surfing and landed on the Food Network watching Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. I missed the name of the restaurant, but the owner was making Cuban Picadillio. It seemed simple enough, but looked delicious – often the way the most wonderful food is made, right? So I figured I’d find a recipe and make up a batch last night for dinner.

We always keep ground grass-fed beef in our freezer from our half steer we buy yearly, so I knew I had everything on hand to make this comforting and delicious dish. I found this great recipe for Cuban Picadillio here. I made a few substitutions such as using several small red and orange sweet peppers in place of the green bell peppers. I served it with jasmine white rice and fried bananas.

Fried bananas

• 2-4 ripe bananas, sliced on a bias, approximately 1/2 inch thick. Bananas should not be too ripe.
• Coconut oil 

Heat a frying pan, I like cast iron because it does not add toxins to your food like non-stick pans will. Stainless steel is also a great option. Add a tablespoon or so of coconut oil to the pan and allow it to heat over med to med-high heat. Gently place the bananas in the pan with one cut side down. Do not over crowd the pan. Work in batches. As the bananas cook they will start to change color and become slightly more yellow. You want a nice browning on the cut side, do not burn. Flip the banana, I used tongs, and continue to cook on the other side.  Remove from heat when both sides have browned and the banana is cooked through. Serve with Cuban Picadillio and white rice.

Everyone enjoyed the meal, but Matthew was baffled by my response to his “What’s for dinner?” I told him Cuban Picadillio and he asked “What is that?” I told him I didn’t know, because I really don’t know what it is. Is it a stew, a chili, what? Anyway, he kept asking me how I was going to give them dinner if I didn’t know what it was. He liked it anyway. And LOVED the fried bananas. And as always this is a Gluten Free meal if you use Gluten Free Worchestershire Sauce. Lea & Perrins also makes a Worchestershire Sauce without HFCS! The meal also happens to be Casein Free, Soy Free and Egg Free.

Stay Well