Bubby and Bean ::: Living Creatively: Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken

This post is in partnership with InnovAsian, but all opinions are my own.

I will just come right out and say that this is one of those semi-homemade recipes, because, well, that's how I operate. But every time I post one of these recipes (or more accurately, hacks), I get an overwhelmingly positive response. We're all busy, man. Most of us don't have time or energy to create lavish meals from scratch every night. And that's why I share these.

I also post almost exclusively vegetarian recipes on here, because, well, I'm a vegetarian and have been most of my life. But both of my kids and my husband enjoy eating meat, and if I can whip them up something they truly love that isn't vegetarian for once, they're stoked.

All of this is why I have been so into InnovAsian foods lately. My kids and my husband all love sweet and sour chicken, and tend to choose that when we order Chinese take out. So I decided I was going to surprise them and make it at home. Then, because I am realistic in terms of my kitchen accomplishments, I shifted gears and did a little research on frozen versions instead. My research led me to Walmart and the InnovAsian products in their frozen aisle. I'll talk more about their awesomeness in a minute, but for now, here is my recipe/hack!

Easy + Fast Sweet and Sour Chicken

Serves 3-4

INGREDIENTS
1 18 oz bag InnovAsian Sweet and Sour Chicken

3 cups (1 bag) InnovAsian Sticky White Rice

3 cups broccoli, chopped

scallions

1 orange, wedged

Prepare InnovAsian Sweet and Sour Chicken according to package directions. I prefer the oven preparation, but the pan-fry method is faster and can be done in less than 10 minutes! While chicken is cooking, place the bag of sauce from the package in a bowl of warm water to thaw. Place self-venting bag of InnovAsian Sticky White Rice with proper side up in microwave and and heat on high for 5 minutes. Steam the broccoli florets for 3-5 minutes until tender (but not mushy). Chop scallions. When chicken is fully cooked, place in a bowl (or leave in pan if you pan fried), and stir in sauce with chicken (heat an additional 2 minutes if pan fried). Stir in broccoli. Plate rice, then pour sweet and sour chicken over it. Top with scallions and garnish with orange wedges.

And there you have it! A fancy sweet and sour chicken dinner in less than 15 minutes. My kids and husband rave about how delicious this is (okay, Emmett picks out the broccoli and scallions with all sorts of dramatic whines but I'll take what I can get), and I love that it (and all InnovAsian meals!) are filled with protein at a great price. InnovAsian also makes a delicious Vegetable Fried Rice that I love to pair with pan fried tofu and hot sauce. They're also great on their own without any of these little "upgrades." Best of all, they save time, energy, and money, which these days all feel more precious than ever.

Grab yourself some InnovAsian products from the freezer section the next time you're at Walmart, or order online with Walmart pick up, and let me know what you think! I'd love to hear from you if you try this recipe hack as well.