Picadillo

Some people like to use this as a filling for tacos.  I like it on its own, with sliced tomato and avocado on the side.

1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil (not extra-virgin)
2 lbs lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced

3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 apple or 1 pear, diced
1/4 green pepper, minced
1/3 cup raisins, chopped
10 green, pimento-stuffed olives, chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon
couple of shakes of ground cloves

kosher salt, crushed red pepper flakes, and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

Heat the oil on medium high heat.  Add ground beef, onion, and garlic.  Brown the ground beef, breaking it up into very small pieces with the edge of your spatula (lean ground beef can seem tough if it's not broken up into small enough pieces).  When the ground beef is brown, add the tomatoes, apple or pear, green pepper, raisins, olives, cinnamon and cloves.  Saute this mixture for a couple of minutes and then cover for a few minutes and cook over medium heat, stirring and scraping it up from the bottom of the pan every couple of minutes.  Add kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste, and crushed red hot pepper flakes to taste if you like it a little spicy.

Once you've put the Picadillo on plates, top it with toasted pine nuts (put pine nuts on a small baking sheet in a 300-degree oven and watch like a hawk until they start to turn golden brown - remove immediately and pour onto a plate to cool).