What to Cook – Sweet and Sour Tilapia

Sharing is caring!

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client.

I’m pretty sure that this school year is going to be the death of me. OK, maybe it’s not that serious, but I foresee  a very busy year in our family’s future. My girl is dying to go to school this year, so we’re looking into daycares for her. My son is determined to make lots of friends and do ALL THE THINGS when it comes to extra-curricular activities. Already on the list is a crafting group at his school and track. He also wants to start drum lessons this fall. I need about 3 of me, each with 8 arms to accomplish all that’s about to pop up in our lives. Oh, and I still have to figure out what to cook and feed these beings at a decent time every night.

One of our favorite meals consists of a quick fish dish. When I grabbed the Kraft recipe makers sweet and sour chicken kit, I knew very well I had no chicken on hand at home. I also knew very well that I was going to tackle this time saver by using my frozen tilapia filets instead of chicken breasts. Because I’m a rebel. I left Walmart with the box of “thanks for saving me tonight” and a small can of pineapple chunks. My goal was to make a 20 minute sweet and sour tilapia meal. Could I do it?

First, I added two cups of rice to our rice cooker. It usually takes 20 minutes to cook, so I knew I had to have everything done by the time the rice was finished.

I lightly greased our cast iron skillet, then added in the filets. NOTE: I put the filets in frozen. Yes, I did! I actually do this quite a bit. If I know that the fish will have a chance to simmer for at least 10 minutes in a sauce, I put them in frozen so they come out juicy, tender and fully cooked in the middle.

Next, I added Kraft sesame ginger simmer sauce to the pan, along with the juice from the can of pineapple. The directions didn’t say to add the juice, but again, I’m a rebel.

I turned the heat to low, covered and let the fish simmer for 10 minutes. After I covered the fish, I started on our side of pan-roasted asparagus. Asparagus is such a quick vegetable to make. I love that I can roast it on a stovetop or in the oven and get the same results. I tossed them with olive oil, minced garlic, and a splash of soy sauce, then put them on medium heat. I ended up tossing them around every few minutes, so they wouldn’t burn.

After the allotted 10 minutes for the tilapia, I turned the filets over, and added in the sweet and sour pineapple finishing sauce. As soon as this sauce hit the pan, I could smell that familiar tart yet sweet aroma.

I also added in the pineapple chucks at this time. If you were planning to add in peppers or maybe a frozen asian vegetable medley, this would be the time to add them to the pan.

While the sweet and sour tilapia was off becoming, well, sweet and sour tilapia, I took the asparagus off the heat, and placed the rice and asparagus on the table. Dinner was done!

The Kraft Recipe Makers kit made this such an easy meal maker, even with me being all revolutionary and not knowing what to cook right away. I can’t wait to pick up another flavor and try it out on many of our upcoming busy nights.