The beauty of stir-fry is that it can include almost any ingredients I might have laying around. For example, we had a houseful of people a couple of weeks ago with almost no notice, so I had to find ways to feed multiple people without the benefit of much time to plan or shop.

I had planned for our little family to have cashew chicken one night but I knew what I had in my pantry wouldn’t quite cut it for more than three or four people, so I started digging around for items to stretch the dish to feed six. And, lo and behold, there was some shrimp in the refrigerator left over from a pizza night we’d had a day or two before.

I had one green pepper I’d planned to use for this dish, but again, that one pepper wasn’t going to cut it for the number of people I had coming to the table, so I dragged a big head of broccoli out of the crisper and a few baby carrots. Cashew chicken doesn’t usually include broccoli and carrots, but, hey, stir-fry is forgiving. The resulting dish has a rather long name, but everyone liked it, whether it was “traditional” or not.

Cashew Chicken and Shrimp with Broccoli and Peppers

3 large, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 lb shrimp
1 cup cashews
1 large broccoli crown
Handful of baby carrots (about a cup, chopped)
1 green pepper
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 green onions, for garnish

For the marinade:
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons corn starch
2 tablespoons soy sauce

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha

Chop your chicken into bite-sized pieces and toss it and the shrimp in the baking soda and let it rest for 10 minutes or so while you chop vegetables and start rice.

When everything is prepared, heat a tablespoon of sesame oil over high heat in a skillet with high sides. Rinse the chicken and shrimp well and transfer them to a bowl to continue to marinate in the soy sauce and corn starch mixture for about 10 more minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare your sauce by whisking all the ingredients together. Set aside.

Add the carrots to the hot oil and saute for a couple of minutes, then add in the the rest of the vegetables. After about five minutes, add the chicken. Once the chicken starts to look done, add the shrimp, cashews and sauce to the pan and stir frequently until everything is cooked through.

Serve over hot rice and garnish with green onions.

Weight Watchers Points Plus Values: 6 points for half cup of rice and 3/4 cup of chicken/shrimp mixture

Serves six.