Herb Crusted Pork Chops

John recently requested that I try a new recipe with pork. I thought pork chops would be fun, so I did some searching and came across this recipe on Eat Yourself Skinny. It sounded simple and yummy. Great news - it was!

The Ingredients: 

• 4 boneless pork chops, fat trimmed (I bought a package of 3)
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard (I used our favorite wasabi mustard)
• 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

The Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. 
2. Rub mustard evenly over pork chops. 
3. Combine 1/2 cup of panko, 1 Tbsp of thyme, 1 Tbsp of parsley, salt and pepper in a large bowl. 
4. Dredge pork chops in panko mixture.
5. Heat a large oven-safe skillet (cast iron works great) over medium-high heat. 
6. Add oil to pan and swirl to coat. 
7. Add pork chops, sauté for 2 minutes or until golden brown. 
8. Turn pork over and place skillet in oven for about 8 minutes or until pork reaches 145 degrees in the center.

The Photos:

I used boneless center-cut pork chops.

Squirt some mustard on each pork chop...

And then spread around the chop. (Do this on both sides.)

Combine the panko, parsley, and thyme in a bowl. 

Heat a Tablespoon of olive oil in an oven-safe pan. (My cast iron pan worked perfectly.) Line up the pork chops and breading next to the pan for easy transport with little mess. 

Coat the pork chops in the mixture...

And then add to the heated pan. (Make sure you add olive oil to the pan first. I forgot to get a picture of that.) Cook for about 2 minutes on one side. 

Flip the pork chops over and then put the pan in the oven (pre-heated to 450). The original recipe said to bake for 8 minutes, but I found that it wasn't ready (145 degrees in the center) until about 15 minutes.

Here they are when I pulled them out of the oven.

I served with a side of steamed brussels sprouts. This was a great, easy meal. I would certainly make it again!