3 pounds chicken breasts, boneless
12 cups water
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 large cans tomatoes
2 cups carrots, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
4 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
2 cans (32 ounces) butter beans
2/3 cup flour
2 pounds beef shank, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon salt
6 slices bacon
1 cup potatoes, cubed and peeled
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup green pepper, chopped
1/4 teaspoon red pepper spice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small box frozen corn
In a large pot, combine chicken, beef shank, water, salt and pepper. Cover and cook until meat is tender, about 1 hour over low heat. Remove chicken and beef from broth, reserving broth. Cut chicken into cubes; set chicken and beef aside.
Cook bacon until crisp, but not burnt. Drain and reserve drippings. Crumble bacon; set aside. To reserved broth in the large pot, add cubed beef, undrained tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, green pepper, brown sugar, red pepper, cloves, garlic and bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring often.
Remove cloves and bay leaf. Add frozen corn, cubed chicken and undrained beans to the pot and simmer 25 minutes. Blend flour and reserved bacon drippings and stir into stew. Cook until stew thickens a bit; salt and pepper to taste.