Recipe: Leftover Lemon & Cashew Chicken

If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s leftover food. Firstly, I am unashamedly one of life’s eaters, leftovers are pretty much against my religion. Secondly, I associate leftovers with congealed sausages and soggy salads, what can I say? I blame a childhood of ‘recycled’ meals.

The good news is that in this household there’s rarely food leftover (I refer you to point one), and if there is, I can safely assume that the man of the house will inhale it the following lunchtime, drowned in ketchup. So, I had to fight to keep these ones to make this beautifully fresh and positively virtuously healthy stir fry.

leftover chicken broccoli cashew

To start with, the original recipe can be found here at BBC Good Food. We have a glut of broccoli in the fridge at the moment due to some confused shopping (never let your husband go unattended ladies… nightmare), so a quick go typing in broccoli recipes and voila! Of course I did have to cook a whole chicken first to get the leftovers but we often have a Sunday roast (anyone for Beer Butt Chicken?!) and it seemed more logical than buying mini chicken fillets like the recipe requests.

It’s also good to point out here that I would definitely deviate from the recipe and make double the amount of sauce. I’ll star the sauce ingredients separately so that you can make your mind up depending on how saucy you feel…

leftover lemon chicken cashew broccoli

Feeds two

You will need:

  • 350g cooked chicken
  • 1 heaped teaspoon of chopped garlic (approx 2 cloves)
  • 300g broccoli
  • 200ml chicken stock * For more sauce, double this
  • 1 heaped teaspoon of cornflour *
  • 2 heaped teaspoons of caster sugar *
  • 1 lemon
  • cashew nuts – As many as you fancy, this was about two handfuls as I ate the rest!

Recipe:

  1. Using oil, lightly cook the chicken until cooked/heated through and then remove from the wok for later
  2. Fry off the garlic and the broccoli in the wok until the broccoli is nearly tender
  3. In a separate bowl combine the stock, cornflour and  caster sugar
  4. Pour the liquid mixture into the wok, stirring whilst it thickens
  5. Add back in the chicken, stirring continuously
  6. Squeeze in the lemon juice (I used 3/4 of a lemon and this was quite zingy, but adjust for personal taste)
  7. Add in the cashew nuts and continue to heat for a couple of minutes
  8. Serve with rice or noodles and a slice of lemon on the side

lemon chicken broccoli cashew

As ever – tag me if you make it! What are your favourite leftover meals to make?

Keep Calm and Carry On Linking Sunday

10 Comments

  • Mummy Tamtam 28th November 2016 at 10:22 am

    So easy! and it looks tasty 🙂 My toddler is a very difficult eater but she loves brocolli so I will definately try your recipe 🙂 Thank you for sharing! #KCACOLS

    • DevonMamaOnline 28th November 2016 at 5:54 pm

      Ridiculously easy. Plus it makes a nice change from a jar of curry which is what we usually end up chucking left over chicken into!! Thanks for reading x

  • five little doves 1st December 2016 at 6:01 pm

    Oh very nice! This looks super easy too and something we can all enjoy! Thank you for linking with #kcacols

    • DevonMamaOnline 1st December 2016 at 10:25 pm

      It’s so quick! Thanks for reading x

  • The Mum Reviews 4th December 2016 at 9:34 pm

    We love to make a roast every Sunday and then use leftover meat to make a different dish early in the week. Always risotto for a roast chicken and a stir fry for beef (or just really nice sandwiches). I know what you mean about leftovers – they can be pretty grim sometimes. #kcacols

    • DevonMamaOnline 4th December 2016 at 10:07 pm

      Oooh, I love risotto but rarely make it! Might have to give one a go this week. Think the leftovers stems from a childhood of being served and re-served them until they were gone… yeurgh!! Thanks for reading! x

  • Tracey Bowden 6th December 2016 at 10:16 pm

    This looks delicious and totally my kind of meal. I usually use my leftover chicken from a roast to make chicken and veg soup in the slow cooker #kcacos

    • DevonMamaOnline 12th December 2016 at 8:43 am

      I need to master soups in the slow cooker! Any recipe suggestions? Thanks for reading x

  • A Moment With Franca 8th December 2016 at 3:28 pm

    This is a great idea! It looks very tasty and very easy to do. We all love broccoli at home. I will try to do this at home! Thanks for sharing this recipe at #KCACOLS, xx

    • DevonMamaOnline 12th December 2016 at 8:44 am

      Thanks for hosting and for popping by xx

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    I'm Hayley and this is us; working parents to three tiny wild ones. Whether it's travel, food, lifestyle or just a healthy dose of parenting reality, there's something for everyone here. So sit back, get comfy and start scrolling!

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