The following post is written by me on behalf of Smithfield® Marinated Pork.
One of my best friends called me recently who was feeling overwhelmed, and she blurted out almost as soon as I answered the phone something along the lines of “How do you and Jamie avoid going out to eat all the time? How do you have so much time to always cook dinner?” I burst out laughing and asked her if this was a rhetorical question or if she really wanted advice, to which she responded the latter. She and her husband were trying to find a way to cut back on grabbing drive-thru dinners and eating out as often as they were.
The first thing I asked her was if she honestly thought I was cooking fancy meals every night? Because the RAPID answer to that would be NOT A CHANCE. Do we eat 90% of our dinners at home? Yes. Do I spend every afternoon slaving away for an hour or more on what I’m going to put on the table? NO. WAY. #aintnomamagottimeforthat
I have a three-step process for putting dinner on the table most nights:
1.) Like I mentioned earlier this week, I almost always decide what we’re having for dinner within the first few hours of waking up. That way I can throw something in the crockpot if necessary, set out my meat to thaw, quickly make my five-minute dough that will need time to rise, etc etc etc. My brain is usually shot by the time dinner rolls around, so there’s a 0% chance that I’ll feel motivated to cook at 5 p.m. if I also have to first decide what to cook. If I make the decision early in the day, then actually executing my plan is the easy part.
2.) I only focus on a main dish. If we want to have a side item, it’s usually a bag of steamed vegetables that I’ll throw in the microwave right before we sit down. Once in a blue moon I’ll make some rice, potatoes, or roasted fresh vegetables, but usually we just do a main dish and a bagged veggie or bagged salad.
3.) 99% of the dishes I make take 30 minutes or less from start to finish. Because my kids like to eat early, I start focusing on dinner at 5 p.m. almost every day, and not a minute beforehand. I get in the kitchen, whip together a quick dinner, and we eat.
Speaking of 30 minute dishes, this one has been a total favorite in our household lately. These shredded pork tacos are topped with a homemade pineapple salsa and drizzled with a store-bought queso dip. They’re insanely flavorful and perfect for dinner any night of the week. Just pop your pork in the oven, throw together your homemade salsa, shred your pork, and assembled your tacos for immediate consumption.
Shredded Pork Tacos with Pineapple and Queso
It’s a good thing I’m making these for dinner tonight because I’m salivating just thinking about them. So good!
I’ve written about Smithfield® Marinated Fresh Pork a number of times the last couple years; It’s consistently been a weekly staple when grocery shopping. There is zero prep I have to do, and dinner is ready in 30 minutes. Win win all around.
Their pork is available in a ton of flavors between the Tenderloins, Loin Filets, and Sirloins. We’ve tried so many flavors and actually aren’t partial to any in particular. I usually just grab and go because I know they’re all going to taste good! Bonus points: They’re super healthy! They’re made from 100% fresh pork, low in calories, and packed with protein. Here are a few more meal ideas that you can whip together to serve with this pork.
By the way, to shred this pork (I used the Roasted Garlic & Cracked Black Peppercorn Marinated Fresh Pork Tenderloin), I bake it for 28ish minutes on 425 degrees and then immediately cut it into four pieces. I then toss it into my mixer and turn it on for about 60 seconds. It shreds perfectly. You could also try using a hand mixer, but it’ll take a little bit more elbow grease.
Military friends, Smithfield Marinated Fresh Pork is now available at the Commissary, so keep an eye out! I scooped mine up at Fort Riley’s Commissary a few days ago. There were a ton of flavors available.
Who wants to win a trip to wine country? (Me, me, me, pick meeeeee!) You can enter the Real Flavor Real Fast Contest by submitting your tip starting on September 1st on how you get dinner ready in 30 minutes or less using Smithfield® Marinated Fresh Pork. Good luck! (I’m off to enter!)
- 1 Roasted Garlic & Cracked Black Peppercorn Marinated Fresh Pork Tenderloin (or any flavor of Smithfield's Pork Tenderloin would work!)
- 6-8 flour tortillas
- 1 jar of Queso Blanco dip
- FOR PINEAPPLE SALSA:
- 1 cup pineapple tidbits, drained
- 1 15.5oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup cooked corn
- ½ red onion, diced
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- salt and pepper, to taste
- Cook pork according to the packaging.
- While pork cooks, prepare salsa.
- In large bowl, combine all listed ingredients (from pineapple down to salt and pepper).
- Shred pork and assemble tacos. You can either spread the queso right on the tortilla and then top with pork and salsa, or you can drizzle the queso on top of the pork and salsa.
- Enjoy immensely!
Hi! I’m Erica, and I absolutely adore sharing my life on this website with you! I come here almost daily to blab about all of the things related to being a regular wife and mother in today’s ever-evolving society. I share about our new home, what’s on our kitchen table, what we’re hanging in our closets, where we’re traveling to next, my crazy 5 a.m. work outs, how I make time for girlfriends, our faith, and much more. We always have a lot of balls in the air and somewhat thrive on the chaos. I believe in the power of story-telling as a form of inspiration and entertainment, so I’m here to do both! I was born and raised in north Alabama and recently re-planted roots here again after my husband transitioned out of the Army (he is now in the Reserve and it’s going so well!) I’m a super proud mom to three little girls (ages 7, 4, and 1) who seem to be the stars of the show around here (for good reason – they’re pretty great!) I’m so glad you found me and are here reading! I hope we can get to know each other here on the blog as well as Facebook and/or Instagram. xoxo