This is a hearty Cuban recipe that is made with easy to find ingredients. A friend taught it to me. A lovely mixture of minced beef, olives, black beans and spices served over brown rice.
If you can't find chipotle powder, try using a chipotle paste, such as Discovery.
I am William C. Smith, and I'd like to reply to the ratings so far. Thank you all for the very nice comments and I'm happy to see that some of you have found alternative methods of preparation. I too have experimented a bit with the ingredients especially trying to find ways to make it less fattening. Ground turkey and ground chicken are great substitutes for ground beef and I've even successfully used chicken meat chopped fresh and from a can. To my Cuban critics let me just say that originally, there were no cajun spices,(I use Tony Chachere's), no chipotle(which isn't necessary at all to the mix; and the chipotle I used is in a powder form), and orginally the olive used was green, stuffed with pimento. I believe my friend used a 1/4 - 1/2 tsp chile powder and red pepper flakes, or some equilivant. You could use any type of hot pepper sauce, but I like to add habanero sauce to mine now; but let me just say that if you do use habanero sauce, in respect to your family/friends that don't like the heat, use only one drop. Habanero sauce is alot like garlic in a recipe, less is better just for flavor, and more is overpowering. This is an easy recipe for sure and I'm glad those of you who've tried it have found as flavorful as I. And yes to the reviewer concerning the name, it should be named Frijoles Cubanos; I was just so excited about listing it online that I got it backwards. - 08 Nov 2004 (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)
I thought this was an excellent dish! My husband is from Puerto Rico so we have a bunch of rice dishes here. This was flavorful enough for adults and not too overpowering for kids. I did not use the black olives. I also used a can of "Cuban Style" black beans. Thanks for this keeper! Also I wanted to add that this recipe is 7 points per serving (using lean ground beef) if you follow Weight Watchers! : ) - 06 Mar 2003 (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)
This is a great recipe & it's fool proof, too!!! I omitted the onions since my hubby can't stomach 'em. Didn't affect the yumminess one bit. Also, my rice turned out gummy - but this wasn't a problem either. Just mixed it right in with the ground beef mixture & you couldn't tell I messed up at all. We added a dollop of sour cream & a bit of cheese to top it off. My husband said we could have it once a week - and he's SUPER picky! I highly recommend this recipe. - 14 Mar 2003 (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)