This whole Roasted Pork Loin Dinner with Cheesy Grits and Sauteed Greens is ready in just 35 minutes!
This Roasted Pork Loin Dinner recipe was sponsored by Collective Bias.
I take back what I said in my last post about missing out on a lot of summer things. For the last couple of weekends we've been busy enjoying life just like we did pre-baby! We went to outdoor concerts, music and art festivals, visited friends, and even went out on a date while Aldo's mom watched Elliot. It was awesome.
But doing all these things while having a baby means there is ZERO time to do anything around the house. We've barely kept up with cleaning and laundry - we did one load of laundry just so we'd have clean bibs for Elliot - and I've had almost no time to cook. I don't know how parents of multiple kids do it, they must be superhuman.
I did manage to cook a full well-balanced dinner the other night though, and that felt really good. I made a Roasted Pork Loin Dinner with Cheesy Grits and Sauteed Greens, all in 35 minutes!! I felt like super mom. This was all possible thanks to pre-marinated Smithfield Roasted Garlic & Herb Loin Filet. The pre-marinated pork means I can take it out of the packaging and just throw it into a pre-heated oven to roast. That's it, no fuss. I don't have to try to remember to marinate the meat in time for dinner, which is a nice thing to not have to worry about since I definitely have mommy brain lately. The pre-marinated Roasted Garlic & Herb Loin Filet had a LOT of flavor.
I roasted the pork loin filet at a high temperature, so it got nice and browned around the edges without me having to brown it in a pan first. And since it cooks quicker at a high temperature, it stays nice and juicy without drying out. That's real flavor, real fast for ya!
I used quick-cooking grits that are ready in 5 minutes and spruced them up a bit with fresh corn and LOTS OF CHEESE, and while that was cooking I sauteed some baby spinach and baby kale. So all in all, it took 5 ingredients and about 10 minutes of hands-on time to make dinner, and it all came out AMAZING.
We had a friend stop by for dinner that night and he said it looked like we had our life together and like we eat these fancy dinners every night. Yeah right!! He said the food was "on point" which is a pretty good compliment coming from him!
I didn't tell him how easy this dinner was to prepare, I let him think that we really did have it all together. 😉 Other busy parents can definitely pull off a dinner like this on weeknights after work. and school.
If you don't want to add corn to your grits, you can try serving this pork loin with a side of honey butter skillet corn!
We used the leftover roasted loin filet for sandwiches the next day: just add a couple of slices of roasted loin filet, a little spicy brown mustard, sliced provolone, a bit of baby spinach and toast the sandwich until the cheese melts. It made for a GREAT lunch!
Roasted Pork Loin Dinner with Cheesy Grits and Sauteed Greens
Ingredients
- 1 Pre-marinated Pork Loin Filet (such as Smithfield) - (approximately 1-1.5 lbs)
- olive oil spray
- 1 cup quick-cooking grits
- 4 cups water - (or as much as 1 cup grits requires, per instructions on the box)
- 1.5 cups shredded cheddar or pepperjack cheese
- 1.5 cups fresh corn kernels - (from 1 corn husk or 1 can)
- 8 cups baby spinach
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt & pepper - , to taste (about ⅛ to ¼ teaspoons each)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F. Spray a baking sheet with olive oil and roast the pre-marinated Roasted Garlic & Herb Loin Filet for 30-35 minutes, or until desired doneness (USDA relaxed the guidelines for cooking pork, 145F internal temperature is recommended now instead of 160F).
- Start cooking the grits 20 minutes after pork loin filet starts roasting: Cook the grits according to the instructions on the packaging (usually a 1:4 corn:water ratio). When the grits are fully cooked, stir in shredded cheese and corn kernels and mix well.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pan, and add the baby spinach (it might not all fit at once). Saute the greens until it wilted (adding the rest of the greens if they don't all fit at once), and season with salt and pepper to taste (about ⅛-1/4 teaspoon each).
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.
David @ Spiced
Thursday 14th of September 2017
As a parent of an almost-two-year-old, I can tell you life does get easier! Well, maybe I should say life just changes. You get used to coming up with delicious meals on the fly like this. I am all about this meal as I love grits and greens...and a good marinated pork loin is always a tasty option for dinner. Thanks for sharing! #client