Spinach and Goat Cheese Stuffed Pork Chops.
It is taking me a while to learn to cook for just two since becoming “empty” nesters. Lately, it seems, we order in, go out, eat simple, or eat leftovers for days and days and days when I do cook.
I still try to make a nice meal on Sunday, even if it is just the two of us. This past Sunday, I decided to make stuffed pork chops with a pack of (just two!) beautifully thick, center cut Iowa Chops I had picked up.
Instead of the usual bread stuffing, though, I wanted to do something different. So after perusing the web and finding a number of interesting combinations, I came up with a combination of fresh iron-rich spinach, creamy goat cheese, garlic to kick it up, and ruby red roasted red peppers for their beautiful color and flavor.
It made a beautiful, delicious, and healthier stuffing for our chops, and I served them on a bed of zoodles (spiral cut zucchini noodles).
How do you like to stuff your chops?! Hope you’ll give this version a try. Simply double or triple depending on how many you are cooking for if you are fortunate enough to be serving a crowd.
Spinach and Goat Cheese Stuffed Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 2 thick boneless Pork Chops (I used Iowa Chops*)
- 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp. Butter
- 2 cups fresh Spinach
- 1 Roasted Red Pepper, chopped
- 1/3 cup goat cheese
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 tsp. dried basil
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
Directions
Steam spinach in microwave with 1 Tbsp. water for 1 minute on High until wilted. Drain, and squeeze water out. Add chopped roasted red peppers, minced garlic, and goat cheese. Stir to combine.
Cut a slit in each pork chop to create a pocket, being careful not to cut through to other side.
Spoon half of spinach mixture into the pocket of each pork chop.
Mix breadcrumbs, basil, oregano, parsley, and seasoned salt in shallow dish. Press stuffed pork chops on both sides into the bread crumb mixture to coat.
Heat oil and butter in skillet over medium/high heat. Add pork chops, and cook 4-5 minutes until nicely browned. Flip over and brown on other side until now longer pink in the middle. (If chops are extremely thick, you may want to put chops in preheated 375 degree oven for an additional 10 minutes once browned.)
*Iowa Chops: The notorious “Iowa Chop” is a seriously thick and succulent pork chop cut from the lower back of the hog just behind the rib. The thickness (1.25-1.5 inches) of this chop led it to be coined “The Iowa Chop” in the 1980’s by the Iowa Pork Producers Association.
Enjoy!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
(P.S. If you are a subscriber and seeing this twice, sorry for the inconvenience! I somehow scheduled it to publish in an incomplete state last evening, so have updated. Thanks for reading!)
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