Cream Cheese, Spinach & Sun Dried Tomato Stuffed Pork Chops

For this dish, you can use either pork or chicken. Publix had butterflied pork chops on sale so that decision was made. If you can't find butterflied pork chops or chicken breasts, it's a simple task to make your own. If you purchase thick cut pork chops or chicken breasts, run your knife along the thickest part and cut a 2 - 3-inch long pocket without cutting all the way through. Now you have a nice pocket to hold all the delicious stuffing.

Let's begin with the stuffing:

4 oz. softened cream cheese

1/2 cups roughly chopped baby spinach

3 T. chopped sun dried tomatoes

1 t. minced garlic

1/2 t. dried Italian Seasoning

3 T. grated Parmesan cheese

salt and black pepper to taste

In a small bowl, thoroughly combine all ingredients. Set aside.

Salt and pepper both sides of the pork chops.

 Divide the stuffing between either two or four pork chops. I wanted an overly stuffed pork chop, so I only used two.

Gently fold the pork chops over to enclose the stuffing and secure with toothpicks.

In a large skillet, add 3 T. Olive Oil and 3 T. butter. Heat over medium heat. When butter begins to bubble, add the pork chops to the skillet. Reduce heat to low. As the pork chops cook, gently spoon the butter/oil mixture over the top of the chops. This helps to keep the pork moist. I cooked these 7 - 8 minutes on each side. Depending on how thick the pork chops are, adjust your cooking time accordingly. 

When cooking pork chops, the internal temperature should reach 145 degrees F. When taking the temperature of stuffed pork chops, it is vital to use the thermometer in the thickest part of the meat as the stuffing may heat up faster than the pork. 

Don't forget to remove the toothpicks before serving!