Mexican Style Meat And Vegetable Stew - Azteca'S Molcajete - cooking recipe

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 1/2 teaspoon your favorite hot sauce, to taste
salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
grated monterey jack cheese, for garnish
chopped scallion, for garnish
chopped jalapeno, for garnish (optional)
1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled, and cut into slices, for garnish

Preparation

Fry the bacon in a large skillet until crispy; remove from pan, reserving drippings, cut into small pieces, and set aside.
Add the oil to the bacon drippings over medium temperature, then saute the chicken and beef strips until browned, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes.
In another large saucepan over medium heat, stir together the boiling water and bouillon granules until dissolved.
Add remaining ingredients (including reserved bacon) and the cooked meat strips, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Garnish, serve, and enjoy!
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.
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.