Thai Cashew Chicken and Broccoli on Quinoa

Surprise hit meal of the Spring!  As I was dishing this meal up for the boys, I had that "uh-oh" feeling in my stomach wondering what, if any, of this meal they would eat.  However, while my 2 year old only ate the cashews off the top, my 1 year old devoured his entire meal and had seconds!  It was great!  I really liked the meal as well but would have to agree with my husband that next time we are going to kick up the spice a little bit or serve it with some hot sauce.

Thai Cashew Chicken and Broccoli on Quinoa

Recipe from Quinoa 365, The Everyday Superfood by, Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. oyster sauce
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground ginger or 2 tsp. fresh ginger minced
2 c. water
1 c. quinoa
4 tsp. sesame oil
2 c. broccoli florets
1 c. thinly sliced onion
3/4 c. water
3 Tbls. peanut butter
1 Tbls. honey
1 c. unsalted toasted cashews

Slice chicken into thin pieces and place in large seal able bag.  Combine soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, ginger in bowl and pour over chicken.  Marinate at least 1 hour.

Bring water and quinoa to boil in a medium saucepan.  Cover and reduce to simmer and cook for 10 minutes.  Turn off heat and leave covered on burner for another 6 minutes.  Fluff with fork set aside.


Place 2 tsp. of sesame oil in large pan over medium heat.  When the oil is hot, add broccoli and onion and cover the pan.  Stir frequently and add 1 Tbls. water if saucepan appears dry.  Cook until the onion is opaque and the broccoli tender, about 8-10 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Remove chicken and reserve marinade.  Place remaining sesame oil and the chicken in the large saucepan on medium high heat and cook until chicken is no longer pink, about 7-8 minutes.  Reduce the heat to medium and add the marinade to the pan.  Stir in water, peanut butter, honey and cook for 1 minute.  Toss in broccoli-onion mixture and stir thoroughly.

Divide the quinoa among individual serving plates.  Top with chicken broccoli mixture.  Sprinkle with cashews and serve.

Husband Rating: 5 out of 10 (and my husband wants me to note that a 5 is truly an average meal, not bad)

Husband Tip: Add Siracha sauce for an added kick

Food for Thought:  This meal was so easy as a freezer meal.  To package for freezing, I put the chicken and marinade in one bag, premeasured a cup of quinoa into a quart sized bag, put the onions in a separate quart sized bag, measured out the cashews into another bag, and then combined the honey, peanut butter, and water in yet another bag (which I then double bagged).  I combined the chicken and quart baggies into one large gallon bag.  My broccoli was already frozen so I simply stacked that with the chicken bag in the freezer.  I kept the broccoli frozen while thawing the rest of the food and it worked out well.