Stuffed chops will warm your taste buds

The cold days and even colder nights have made me consider what appliance I like to use most.

During the winter, I often turn to the oven. Using the oven does two things: Warms the house nicely and cooks dinner slowly and fragrantly. As dinner slowly cooks, those wonderful aromas fill your home, building anticipation for a delectable dinner. One of my favorite dinners is stuffed pork chops.

With some simple ingredients and a handy butcher, you can make a delicious meal simply and fairly inexpensively. Did you know that pork is the culinary term for domestic pigs? Pork, one of my favorite meats, has been in North America since the early 1500s. Pigs were domesticated in Asia in as early as the 12th century. In Asia, the natives liked pigs because they were easy and quick to raise and lots of options as to how to prepare the meat. Early on, they learned to store pork with no refrigeration. It took salting, cooking, curing and drying to keep from spoiling.

In centuries gone by, pigs were typically processed in the fall and were paired to other foods that were harvested at the same time, such as apples, pears and other fruits. I've seen recipes for stuffed pork chops with all kinds of ingredients, sausages, rice, figs and dates, raisins, corn bread and peanut butter. So you see a lot of pork recipes with these items in them and for good reason, they are just good. This recipe, which is paired with apples, will make a memorable dinner.

Stuffed pork chops

with apple cinnamon stuffing

2 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1⁄2 cup celery finely chopped

1⁄2 cup green onions

71⁄2 ounces unseasoned bread cubes

1⁄4 cup minute rice( if you need to use regular rice, measure 1⁄2 cup precooked white rice as a substitute)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 apples, peeled, sliced, cored, and cubed finely

1 teaspoon salt

1⁄2 teaspoon pepper

11⁄4 cups apple juice

In a frying pan combine olive oil, butter, celery, green onions, and saute until tender. When this mixture is tender, add apples and cinnamon, stir for 2 minutes. In mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients and toss. Let sit covered in your refrigerator for at least an hour. You may make this stuffing up to 24 hours in advance.

Now go to your favorite butcher and ask for 4 pork chops 11⁄4" thick and ask him to cut pockets in them for you. He will be glad to do this for you.

Stuff each pork chop full of stuffing and lightly season the outside of the pork chop with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour or until internal temp is 160 degrees. Serve with sweet potato, corn or candied carrots. YUM!

(If you want to cook stuffed pork chops but it looks like too much work, I have these available all the time ready for the oven.)

• David Theiss a long time resident of Carson city and the owner of Butler Gourmet Meats in Carson City