Thinking of Super Bowl weekend? Here's a quick dish to make for 2 or 20. Picadillo is a popular Latin dish using ground meat, onions, green bell pepper, tomato sauce and raisins. Using ground buffalo adds a new dimension and flavor to this 10-minute, no-fuss dinner. Ground buffalo meat is now available in most supermarkets. The flavor is excellent and the meat also makes delicious burgers.
There are probably as many variations of picadillo as there are people who make it. The success of this dish is the blending of sweet and savory flavors. Picadillo is usually served over rice. I use microwave brown rice, which cooks in 1 minute.
Another way to serve the picadillo is over two halves of Cuban or other rolls, which is called a sloppy Joe. The story goes that Sloppy Joe's Bar in Key West, Fla., took this traditional Cuban dish and served it over bread. Either way, enjoy this simple, quick dinner.
Serve a washed, ready-to-eat salad with your favorite low-fat salad dressing to complete the meal.
Helpful Hints:
_ Ground buffalo can be found in the fresh meat case or frozen meat section of most supermarkets. Very lean ground beef can be used instead.
_ Look for a pasta sauce with no added salt or sugar.
_ If frozen chopped onion and green pepper are not available, use fresh sliced onion and pepper available from the produce section of the market.
_ 4 crushed garlic cloves can be used instead of minced garlic.
Countdown:
_ Make Picadillo.
_ While Picadillo cooks, make rice.
Shopping List:
To buy: 1 package frozen chopped onion, 1 package frozen chopped green bell pepper, 1 container minced garlic, 1 bottle no-salt-added pasta sauce, 1 package microwaveable brown rice and } pound ground buffalo.
Staples: canola oil, raisins, distilled white vinegar, salt and black peppercorns.
