Picadillo de Livsita

Let me just say, Picadillo is one of the most useful dishes I have ever cooked. Picadillo is a spicy Spanish/Latin American dish with ground meat and veggies (onions, peppers, tomatoes). Serve this dish over rice, in lettuce as a wrap, as a stuffed pepper, in a tortilla... or whatever else you can think of.



To top it all off, my sister keeps telling me this is her favorite.







Picadillo de Livsita



Ingreditants

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

1 cup green and red pepper mix

1 jalepeno pepper, seeded (to taste) and minced

4 garlic cloves

1 pound beef sirloin

1/2 pound ground pork

1 teaspoon (rounded) cumin

2 small tomatoes, chopped into small pieces, or run through the food processor chop cycle

1/2 cup raisins

red wine (optional)

Hot white rice




1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, green peppers, garlic and jalepeno until soft, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the meat, turning the heat up to medium-high. Brown the meat, breaking up any lumps. Cook the meat thoroughly, about 10 minutes.

3. Drain off the fat.

4. Add the cumin and tomatoes. Stir in well. Bring the mixture to a boil, turn the heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes.

5. Stir in the raisins, cover, and let simmer for another 5 minutes, or until the raisins have plumped.





Today, I forgot to get a jalepeno, so I used dried red pepper flakes, and it still turned out well. Sometimes I splash in a little red wine (and then have a glass over dinner) for a different flavor. Adding green olives at the end- when the raisins go in- also adds another dimension.

Chicken and Basil Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce

Hospitals are not noted in cookbooks for their food. What have I found that is G-F at my hospital? The salad bar and the once-a-week baked potato bar (I bring my own butter). Each week I have "the big cook" and make myself dinner, with enough leftovers for the 3, 12-hour shifts I work. This dish is one of my favorites to bring to work, because it warms up well and is easily prepared.

Chicken and Basil Stir Fry

Serves: 4 hungry people; Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 30 minutes

What You Need:

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken cutlets, cut into 1/4 inch strips (or bite-sized morsels)

Coarse salt and ground pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion (I recommend a sweet onion), coarsely chopped

2 bell peppers (red, yellow, green, or a mix), ribs and seeds removed, cut into 1/4 inch strips

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups Thai or other basil leaves, tear the larger leaves in halves or fourths

1. Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large non-stick skillet or wok, over medium high heat.

3. Cook half the chicken, cooking until just cooked through. Remove to plate, and cook the remaining chicken in the same fashion. When all the chicken has been set on a separate plate, wipe the pan out with a paper towel.

4. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet, keeping the heat at medium-high. Add onion and bell peppers. Cook until they start to brown (3-ish minutes). Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute.

5. Add chicken and basil leaves to pan, and mix. Remove from heat.

6. Serve over warm white rice, with a dollop of peanut sauce.

Peanut Sauce

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 2 minutes

What You Need:

1/3 ("heaping") peanut butter - best with pure peanut butter that is not sweetened

1 shallot

5 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons walnut oil

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon cardamon

1 teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon rice milk

coarse salt to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor (I use a food processor attachment on my blender), and whip it, whip it good.

2. Dollop onto each plate of stir-fry or mix it all over the stir-fry.

Real Reason

There are things you do because they feel right & they may make no sense & they may make no money & it may be the real reason we are here: to love each other & to eat each other's cooking & say it was good. - Brian Andreas