NuM NuM

It's so exciting to make recipes you've bookmarked and filed in your archives for years. That's DEFINETELY one of the perks to being married. Finally you have a life-long guinea pig to test your recipes on. This one was definetely a winner!!!! Lobster said it was f-ing delicious....must keep blog PG-rated. You know it's going to be good when it's been reviewed by 250 other people.

I don't necessarily think of myself as a good cook, but a good recipe finder. I hate it when you make something and it doesn't turn out the way you expected. Then you think, it couldn't possibly have been me. Therefore I try not to make recipes unless there has been some sort of review for them, making them ultimately fool-proof and yummy for my tummy!!!

I followed the recipe as is but used bone in pork chops instead. Since they were a bit thick, I seared both sides on the stove top then finished them off in the oven. The result was a moist, flavorful, delicious pork chop. I accidentally undercooked the pork a bit so I had to go back and re-cook it :( But at least now I know I should insert my instant-read thermometer as close as possible to the bone instead of any random spot. (When cooking bone-in chops make sure the bone is in the center of the pan since that's the hottest part of pan and they take the longest to cook) I cooked the pork chops to 153 degrees knowing they would rise to 160 since I let them rest for about 7 minutes while I made the sauce. I also found the sauce to be a little too tangy so I adjusted for that by adding a little more chicken broth.

I made these with a side of green beans and grilled romaine. I didn't even follow a recipe. I'm awfully proud of myself. Yes, I am turning into a culinary nerd but I'm just so excited to finally be able to cook whatever I want in my kitchen. Anyway, back to the green beans...I cut up one shallot then seasoned the beans with salt, pepper, garlic powder and a little bit of fresh thyme. I added a bit of water to help the green beans steam and then deglazed the pan with some chicken broth and reduced it to concentrate the flavors. For the grilled romaine, I split it in half then brushed the top and bottom of the lettuce with EVOO, sprinkled it with garlic powder and a little S&P. Lobster then grilled it on his dalmation. Right when it came off the grill I sprinkled it with some cheese. Next time lobster thinks we should melt the cheese on the lettuce while it's still on the grill, which sounds like yummy cheezy goodness. Note to self for next time. It was a healthy well balanced meal...num num.

Pork chops stuffed with spinach and sun dried tomatoes – 2 servings
Adapted from here

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
1 cloves garlic, minced
3 sun-dried tomatoes, diced
1/2 (10-ounce) bag of frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out
Salt and pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1 ounce of goat cheese
2.6 ounce (1/2 of 1/3 of a cup) reduced-fat cream cheese
2 (4-ounce) center-cut pork chops
3/4 cups chicken broth
1/4 lemon , zested
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Directions

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 sun-dried 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 season with more salt and pepper to your liking.

Use a sharp knife to cut a deep long pocket into the thickest portion of the pork chop so you can stuff more. Stuff each pocket with 1/4 of the spinach and sun-dried tomato mixture and close the pork around the stuffing with toothpick. Season the outside of the pork with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl combine the chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, and mustard.
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 sauce over the pork before serving