Apple Stuffing Pork Chops

I just can't get enough of the flavors of fall, seriously by far the best season for food!  Tonight I made an apple stuffing, complete with apples picked from Russell's Orchard in Ipswich.  I bought a harvest loaf from Russo's Market in Watertown... which as an aside deserves a post all on its own.  The self proclaimed food lover's food store, this market is full of unique produce and high quality food products that are very affordable.  But a word to the wise, you may want to avoid the place on Sunday afternoon's-- utter mayhem.  But I digress.
Anyway, back to the bread.  This harvest loaf is a whole wheat/sour dough bread, loaded with pecans, walnuts, cranberries, apricots, figs, and candied ginger.  When I saw this bread, I got the bright idea to make pork chops with an apple stuffing.  My mom used to make baked pork chops with stuffing on top. It's one of the only ways I like to eat the other white meat.  And this recipe was amazing... I don't mean to brag buttttt it's a good one!

Pork Chops with Apple Stuffing (serves 3)
3 center cut pork chops --bone in or boneless, I got boneless
4-6 large slices of harvest bread --a regular baguette or stuffing bread would work as well 
1 medium celery stock
1/2 medium yellow onion
1 large apple --I used Empire, Granny Smith would be good too! 
2 tbsp margarine --I used Country Crock
dry parsley flakes
dry rosemary
1/3 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup apple cider


Start by preheating the oven to 300 degrees.  Chop the bread into bite size pieces, about a 1/2 to an inch thick.  Lay them in one layer on a baking sheet and bake them in the oven for 7 minutes, just enough to make them a little hard.  Once removed, keep the oven on and turn it up to 400 degrees.

While the bread is toasting in the oven, chop the celery into thin slices.  Give the onions a medium chop.  Peel the skin off the apple, and chop it into bite sized pieces. 

 Next melt the margarine spread in a large saute pan.  Add the onion, celery, apple, rosemary, and parsley.  I didn't measure the rosemary or parsley, but add just enough to give a good dusting.  Cook until the apples and onion soften, about 10 minutes. 

 In a large bowl or pot, add the apple mixture and bread, then add the chicken stalk and mix it up.  Don't worry about scraping every little thing out of the saute pan, you'll use the pan again in a minute for the pork-- keep it on medium heat.   

Now back to that saute pan... add the apple cider and let it get hot and bubbly.  Add the pork chops to the pan.  You aren't going to cook them all the way through, just brown them on both sides, about a minute or two on each side.

Next, spray an 8x8 inch baking dish with a little cooking spray, add the pork chops, then spoon the stuffing onto the chops, it'll overflow to fill up the dish. 

Bake in the oven uncovered for about 45 minutes.  I made more than enough stuffing for three pork chops, but who doesn't love stuffing?!  If you are going to go heavy on the stuffing, than I would suggest skipping the mashed potatoes/pasta sides.  I paired the pork chops with mashed butternut squash, and it was the PERFECT fall dinner and another great recipe for a dinner party!