Mexican Style Meat and Vegetable Stew - Azteca's Molcajete

Ingredients

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 8 ounces beef, such as flank steak, cut into strips
• 1 slice thick-cut meaty bacon
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 cups boiling water
• 2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granule
• 15 ounces tomato sauce
• 16 ounces small mushrooms, cut in halves
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh sweet onion
• 2 teaspoons minced roasted garlic
• 1 tablespoon dried ancho chile powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dry sherry
• 1/4 teaspoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce or your favorite hot sauce, to taste
• salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• grated monterey jack cheese, for garnish
• chopped scallion, for garnish
• chopped jalapenos, for garnish (optional)
• 1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled, and cut into slices, for garnish

Directions

1. 1

   Fry the bacon in a large skillet until crispy; remove from pan, reserving drippings, cut into small pieces, and set aside.

2. 2

   Add the oil to the bacon drippings over medium temperature, then sauté the chicken and beef strips until browned, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes.

3. 3

   In another large saucepan over medium heat, stir together the boiling water and bouillon granules until dissolved.

4. 4

   Add remaining ingredients (including reserved bacon) and the cooked meat strips, and simmer for 10 minutes.

5. 5

   Garnish, serve, and enjoy!

6. 6

   Note: to make the seafood version of Azteca's Molcajete, omit the chicken/beef and instead have 1/2 pound shelled and deveined shrimp, 1/2 pound scallops, and as much skinned and deboned whitefish fillet pieces as you'd like (about 1/4 pound or more) which you will add in during the last 5 minutes of cooking.

7. 7

   Note #2: we've also added a can of black beans to the recipe, to good effect. If the soup isn't as thick as you'd like it to be, try adding a can of refried beans - it works well! We've also served it with crisp tortilla strips and a dollop of Mexican crema instead of monterey jack. It's a versatile recipe, so experiment and enjoy yourself! :) If you have made the Rich and Delicious Enchilada sauce recipe of mine, you might recognize many of the soup ingredients - to make the sauce into soup, use 2 cups of the sauce, add 1 cup hot water and 1/2 teaspoon chicken stock granules, then add the cooked chicken and garnish ingredients as usual.