Living Like a Caveman - Paleo Apple Bacon Stuffed Pork Chops

I like being a meat-eater. But never has it been so ‘trendy’ as it is now – I am almost scared to walk down the street seeing everyone being Andrew Zimmer – holding a raw chicken leg in their hand just gnawing away as they walk down the street. Not ready for that yet.

And while I am a big fan of my meat red and bloody, I am not sure I want to live totally ‘raw.’ But I am trying to be healthy and eat things that are REAL FOOD. lol – yes that means we do longer eat McNuggets, mang.

But I realized the downfall to my dieting is not having food prepared or having meals planned out. I am not saying you should always plan ahead and have everything scheduled out – but when I actually went and picked out some recipes, bought those items and had them ready to go in the fridge, it was A LOT easier to eat better- AND DELICIOUS.

My Trainer, the one and only Life By The Bells recommended this site to me –

www. thefoodee.com

AND IT ROCKS.

There are TONS of recipes to pick from – and then once you put them all in your ‘cart’ it will print or email you the full list of grocery items you need for the whole week of recipes! Now, THAT’S LOVE.

It was so easy to go and grab everything on the list!

Last night we decided we would try the Apple and Bacon Stuffed Porkchops – and they were MOUTHWATERING! I will be keeping this recipe on file for another round soon! We also complimented the meal with Cinnamon Balsamic Carrots – and you can find the recipe on my client’s blog here!

Apple Bacon Stuffed PorkChops

(this is their delicious image, and see my actual images below!)

Ingredients

6 1″ thick pork chops
2 Tbsp lard
2 medium baking apples (Gala and York are our favorites), peeled, cored and diced
10 strips of bacon, diced
1 red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minces
4 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
1/4 tsp paprika
1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

Ask your butcher to “pocket” your baking chops. If you need to do it yourself, use a 4-6″ knife and pierce the fatty side of the chop. Wiggleyour knife side to side until your “pocket” is about 5″ long and 3″ wide (70% of the chop) ****We didn’t ‘pocket’ our chops – I just bought 10 think chops and layered them on top of each other with the ‘stuffing’ inbetween which was still good!
In a medium pan (we recommend a cast iron skillet or dutch oven), melt lard over medium-high heat
Cook apples, bacon and onion until onion is softened and bacon is crispy, about 8 minutes
Add garlic, sage, paprika and lemon juice and toss for 2 minutes
Remove stuffing from heat, transfer to bowl and set-aside
♥ Salt and pepper each side of pork chop, stuff it with as much stuffing as you can fit and use a skewer or toothpick to close and prevent spilling (about half of the stuffing will be leftover)
Insert pork chops into the hot pan to sear on each side, cook each side of the chops for 5 minutes in hot pan over medium-high heat
Transfer pan/dutch oven to 350 degree oven and bake uncovered for 35 minutes
To serve, warm remaining stuffing and spoon on top of each chop