stuffed pork chops & fingerling potatoes

I was excited to find these cute fingerling potatoes at the grocery this week and I couldn't wait to cook them for our Thursday night meat and potato dinner. I was sure with the way I wanted to cook the potatoes but deciding what to do with the pork chops was the challenging task.

I thought about stuffing them with a simple mixture of ingredients I have in hand, some grated parmesan cheese, a little breadcrumbs, minced garlic, minced fresh basil and oregano, minced mushrooms seasoned with salt and pepper and drizzled with olive oil. The olive oil was great for binding the ingredients together for easier stuffing. I very carefully sliced and made a pocket in each pork chop then filled them with about 2 tablespoons of the mixture. After stuffing, they were sealed with toothpicks before sauteeing in olive oil. For the mushroom sauce, I added some butter and flour to the pan drippings to cook for a few minutes. Some quartered fresh mushrooms were then tossed in. I gradually poured a little hot water to make a thin mixture. Lastly, I added a little half & half and ended up with a creamy and rich sauce.

For the fingerling potatoes, I wanted something simple to bring out their naturally good flavor. I simmered them for about 10 minutes, careful not to overcook them, and finished cooking them on the grill pan along with some zucchini slices. I simply brushed them with olive oil right before grilling. They were fully cooked but still firm so it took only a few minutes to toast them. Toss them with additional chopped basil and oregano then season with salt and pepper. Together with the zucchini slices, they paired well with the pork chops for a dinner that's worth making again.

My plate of the complete meal, stuffed pork chops with mushroom sauce, grilled zucchini, grilled fingerling potatoes and sweet baby carrots.