Cuban Sloppy Joes?

I've been trying to come up with healthy dishes that aren't grilled chicken.  I read through lots of magazines and am always tearing out interesting recipes, but the recipes that catch my eye are usually not the healthiest choice.  While taking into account the nutritional value of a meal, I am also looking for a dish that won't cost too much and that won't keep me in the kitchen all day.  Keeping all these things in mind, I thought about a Cuban dish that I had growing up called picadillo. 

Picadillo is essentially ground beef with tomato sauce and spices.  The ground meat is browned and broken apart, and the tomato sauce and spices act as flavor and give the meat some moisture.  It almost looks like Cuban version of sloppy joes, though it is not usually eaten on a bun.  It's a pretty basic dish that can be tweaked depending on the use.  Hubby said it reminded him of the stuffing in a stuffed pepper, and it can also be used in savory pastries and such.  The way I am accustomed to eating picadillo is with a side of rice, which is a very common Cuban accompaniment. 

Basic Picadillo
1 lb ground beef
1 - 15 oz can of tomato sauce (use as much as you like to give your desired consistency)
1 onion
1 bell pepper (green is traditionally used, but I prefer red ones)
garlic salt to taste

Brown meat while breaking it apart.  Drain excess fat from meat.  Cook up the diced onion and bell pepper.  Combine ingredients with tomato sauce (I only used about half of the can).  Season with garlic salt.

Note: My mom cooks the meat and onion/pepper mix separately to make draining with a colander easier.  I partially browned the meat and then added in the onion/pepper mix.  Instead of draining, I spooned out the excess liquid. 

Cooking up a delicious and simple dinner.

This basic recipe can have other ingredients easily incorporated to suit ones taste.  Some Cubans add sliced olives to their picadillo, though I'm not a fan of olives therefore not a fan of that preparation.  My preferred add-in is raisins.  I know that may sound a little hokey, but trust me, they add a perfect balance to the tomato savoriness of the dish.  I added them in after adding the tomato sauce and cooked them long enough to soften their skins.  Hubby was surprised by how much he enjoyed the raisins and the dish in general.

The final product was like a taste of my childhood.