Seeking recipes: Picadillo, Tortilla Soup

[wool]

I'm on a mission to craft a fantastic beef picadillo recipe and tortilla soup recipe. If you know Great Burrito on UWS, that is the style I'm looking to recreate.

So far, my search online has generated weak recipes.

Any ideas?

[Querencia]

I make picadillo a lot, this way: saute ground beef in a little olive oil with cut-up onion and green pepper. Add a small can of tomato sauce and a can or two of water. Season with salt, garlic, and cumin (comino, at any Hispanic grocery). Toss in a handful of raisins and some sliced green olives. Cook it for a few minutes. If this tastes "weak", add more garlic and comino. Eat it with rice. It freezes perfectly. No conozco el Gran Burrito, lo siento, but this (with less water and plus some hard-boiled egg) is what went into empanadas in the Buenos Aires de mi juventud. Muy autentico.

[janniecooks]

Here's my recipe for a mexican style chicken soup; to make it tortilla soup add fried tortilla strips as a garnish when serving:

Mexican soup a la jannie
2 quarts chicken broth
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 medium to large carrot, diced
1 medium parsnip, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 jalapeno peppers, roasted, skinned, seeded, and diced (or more, to taste)
1 14-ounce can Muir Glen fire-roasted tomatoes with chiles
1/2 to 1 chicken breast, boneless and skinless, or 2 cups diced leftover roast chicken
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 to 3 tablespoons ground cumin, or to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper - about a teaspoon or so of each
For garnish:
1 ripe avocado, cut into large dice
Sour cream
Fresh cilantro leaves
Fried tortilla strips, optional

1. Heat broth to boiling, the reduce heat to simmer. If using raw chicken, simmer it in the broth very gently for 30 minutes and remove chicken to cut into dice. Add all ingredients except garnishes and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes to blend flavors.
2. To serve ladle soup into bowls. Add diced avocado to each bowl. Top with a dollop or sour cream and toss some fresh cilantro leaves on top.
If using fried tortilla strips, stir them into each bowl before adding other garnishes.