Monday's Daily Recipe: Pork Chops Stuffed with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach serve with Yellow Rice

Welcome to a new week!  Tonight's Recipe:  Pork Chops Stuffed with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinch served with Yellow (Saffron Rice).  buy your favorite yellow rice and nuke it!

Pork Chops Stuffed with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach Recipe

Yields: 4 Servings

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

Instructions
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 set aside.

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 sun-dried tomato mixture and close the pork around the stuffing. 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 some sauce over the pork before serving.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 145 Calories; 10g Fat (59.8% calories from fat); 8g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 18mg Cholesterol; 807mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Source:  Giada De Laurentiis (one of my favorites, she was a personal chef too)