Tandoori Chicken: From Dinner to the Lunch Box

One of the biggest questions I get asked when it comes to school lunch is, "how do I make it easy?" I hear that one day in and day out and honestly, I spend a good part of my days in search of the best answer. If you've peeked at the hundreds of school lunch pictures I've posted daily on Facebook over the years, then you know that I try hard not to send my kids to school with the same thing in any given week or two, and that if there's one thing I'm passionate about, it's figuring out ways to simply and creatively turn last night's dinner into today's lunch. That one thing alone removes so much of the work and worry about what to pack in your little one's lunch box.

Surveying my fridge last week I realized I had a good amount of two things: chicken and plain Greek yogurt. I also have a drawer full of spices that I rely on for creative inspiration, so the idea of Tandoori chicken popped in my head. Tandoori is a delectable, Indian dish in which the chicken is marinated in yogurt and assorted spices. It's a tempting choice for dinner, how about serving it for lunch the next day? I thinly sliced my leftover Tandoori chicken on a crusty ciabatta roll with a simple lemon mayo spread for Kenya's lunch, but you could just as easily chop up the chicken and place it on top of cooked brown rice, cut it into cubes for dipping into a side of the citrus-y mayo or even place it on salad for yourself (or if you have girlfriends coming over).

Next time you have a dinner everyone really enjoys, why not think about how you can reinvent it the next day for a tasty lunch? You can give it a new spin and chances are your crew will love it just as much.

**This recipe is participating in Food Network’s virtual Back to School party, The Communal Table. Check all the wonderful, celebratory dishes below, and join the conversation on twitter using hastag #pullupachair.

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