Platinum Chef Pork Chops!

This is my second Platinum Chef Challenge and again, it was SO much fun to come up with the dishes. The ingredients this time were: Lentils, Lemon, Goat cheese, Spinach and Vinegar. My main ingredient was Pork Chops and it went REALLY well with the spinach goat-cheese stuffing and lentil salad. I never thought stuffing Pork Chops would be so easy and SO incredibly worth it! YUM!

Pork Chops stuffed with Goat Cheese and Spinach

Ingredients: (2 servings)

1 Tbsp olive oil
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1 c frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
2 oz goat cheese, softened
½ tsp grated lemon rind
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 boneless pork chops

Prep:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In medium bowl, mix cheese, mustard, lemon rind and spinach until well blended.

Using a sharp knife, slice pockets into chops by slicing horizontally into the side, and almost through to the other side. Season the outside with salt and pepper. Stuff chops with spinach mixture, allowing stuffing to overflow out of pockets.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops and sear on 1 side until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip chops and cook another 4 minutes until done.

Lentil Salad with Lemon Dressing

Ingredients:

½ c dried brown lentils
1 medium tomato, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 oz goat cheese, crumbled
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard

Prep:

Cook lentils in pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well. Place in large bowl. Mix in tomatoes.

Whisk together olive oil, mustard and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Add dressing to salad; toss to coat. Add goat cheese. Transfer salad to serving bowl or platter.