Haylie Duff is all about quick and easy meals. With two young daughters at home, Ryan, 3, and Lulu, 5 months, the Real Girl’s Kitchen host doesn’t exactly have a ton of free time on her hands these days, which is why she recently partnered with Smithfield Marinated Fresh Pork.
Duff loves the products because they are conveniently pre-seasoned and packed with protein, allowing her to make a healthy, delicious meals with little to no prep work any night of the week. In fact, the Napolean Dynamite star even created several of her own recipes that are ready in 30 minutes or less.
“I’ve become obsessed with their marinated loins,” Duff tells Us Weekly of the Smithfield meats. “I had a mom night with a bunch of my mom friends from school and we had margaritas and I slow cooked the loins and made carnitas … we all just drank margs and ate the carnitas while the kids played. It was so fun!”
Since the Smithfield Marinated Fresh Pork is so versatile, Duff, 33, has a variety of ways she likes to prepare them. “You can make them in so many different ways, I like to slice it and put it in a skillet with Tzatziki sauce. It’s really simple and fast,” she explains. “Or you can prep the night before and put it in a slow cooker version and have juicy, amazing loins. The truth is they’re pre-marinated, so I honestly don’t need to add anything to them.”
Another Duff favorite is the bacon-marinated pork loin filet, which, as the cookbook author notes, elevates the pork itself and “puts the flavor into the meat.”
To see how to prepare a quick and easy meal using the tasty bacon-marinated pork loin filet, take a look at Duff’s recipe below!
Smithfield Tomatillo, Pineapple & Bacon Marinated Pork Tacos
Makes 6-8 tacos
INGREDIENTS:
For the tacos:
• 1 Smithfield Applewood Smoked Bacon Marinated Loin Filet
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• Tajin seasoning
• 1 pineapple, cubed
• Tomatillo salsa (see below)
• 6-8 white corn tortillas
• 1 cup queso fresco
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro
• 1 jalapeño, diced, seeds removed
• 1-2 chopped radishes
• Kosher sea salt
For the tomatillo salsa
• 10 tomatillos
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 onion
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 lime
• A pinch of cayenne
• 1 tbsp brown sugar (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS:
- To cook the loin filet preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On medium heat, sear top side of pork loin in a cast iron skillet (for about 4 mins) with 1 tablespoon of oil.
- Transfer the cast iron to an oven and roast for 30 mins or until internal temperature is between 145 and 160 degrees. Let the meat rest, then slice it into medallions and cube into 1/2 inch or 1-inch pieces.
- While the loin cooks, sprinkle Tajin across the pineapple and grill until marks appear. Dice pineapple in to 1-inch pieces.
- To make the tomatillo salsa preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roast 10 tomatillos, 4 cloves garlic, 1 onion. Blend all ingredients with 1 tsp of salt, 1 lime and pinch of cayenne. (Add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar if tomatillos are bitter)
- To warm tortillas, place directly on stovetop with heat set to low. Warm and flip.
- Layer your tacos using the tortilla, cubed pork, pineapple, tomatillo salsa and crumbled queso fresco. Garnish with cilantro, diced jalapeño and radishes.
With reporting by Travis Cronin.
