Stuffed pork chops. When I see those three little words, I get weak in the knees. And when the stuffing involves sundried tomatoes and goat cheese, I am pretty much powerless to resist the stuffed pork chop's charms. So when I happened to catch Giada de Laurentiis making this recipe on TV a few Sundays ago, I had my dinner idea for the night.

Despite a fancy-sounding name and a surfeit of decadent ingredients, this pork recipe is incredibly simple to make. It starts with frozen spinach, cooked in a skillet with sundried tomatoes then mixed with goat cheese and cream cheese for the filling. Simply slice a pocket in the pork chops and cook on the stove until golden brown. As a bonus, the leftovers made great next-day sandwiches. To get the recipe, read more.

Pork Chops Stuffed With Sundried Tomatoes and Spinach
Giada de Laurentiis / Food NetworkPork Chops Stuffed With Sundried Tomatoes and Spinach

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. olive oil, plus 1 Tbsp.
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 sundried tomatoes, diced
1 (10-ounce) bag of frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out
1/2 tsp. salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 cup (2 ounces) goat cheese
1/3 cup reduced-fat cream cheese
4 (4-ounce) center-cut pork chops
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 lemon, zested
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. Dijon mustard

Directions

  1. Warm the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the sundried tomatoes, spinach, salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook until combined, about 2 more minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Add the goat cheese and the cream cheese. Stir to combine and set aside.
  2. Use a sharp knife to cut a pocket into the thickest portion of the pork chop. Stuff each pocket with 1/4 of the spinach and sundried tomato mixture and close the pork around the stuffing. Season the outside of the pork with salt and pepper.
  3. In a small bowl combine the chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, and mustard.
  4. Warm the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot add the pork. Cook until golden and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the pork to a side dish and tent with foil to keep warm. Add the chicken broth mixture to the skillet over medium-high heat. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan as the chicken broth simmers. Reduce the broth by half to make a light sauce, about 8 minutes. Spoon some sauce over the pork before serving.

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