Oven Fried Pork Chops with Hasselback Tomatoes

Dr. Sweetpea loves pork chops for his dinner during the week. I found this great oven fried pork chop recipe on a whim and it was a total hit! Actually, he loves this recipe much more than the recipe that I tried a few weeks ago. This is definitely a keeper. I also made Hasselback Tomatoes for a side dish and Dr. Sweetpea raved about how good the tomatoes were as well.

Oven Fried Pork Chops

(Source: MyRecipes.com)

2 cups panko or other coarse bread crumbs 

1 (1 oz) packet onion soup mix

1 teaspoon paprika 

Pepper 

1/2 cup Dijon mustard 

2 tablespoons flour 

6 (6 oz) boneless pork chops, trimmed of excess fat 

6 tablespoons butter, melted

Arrange a rack in bottom third of oven. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with nonstick cooking spray.

Mix bread crumbs with soup mix, paprika and pepper in a shallow bowl. In a separate shallow bowl, combine mustard and 2 Tbsp. water. Spread flour on a plate. Dredge pork chops in flour. Coat both sides of each pork chop with mustard mixture, and then dredge in bread crumbs to coat well. Place chops on prepared baking sheet.

Drizzle 1 tablespoon melted butter over each chop. Bake until cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes, turning chops over halfway through cooking time for even browning. Let chops rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Note: After I coated my pork chops in the mustard mixture, I dipped them into 2 eggs to ensure the bread crumbs stick to the pork chops. This is totally optional. 

Hasselback Tomatoes

(Source: Cooks Country)

8 ripe plum tomatoes, cored

7 ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded (1 3/4 cups)

1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaf

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

1 garlic clove, minced

Salt and pepper

Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set wire rack in sheet. Using serrated knife, cut 1/4-inch-thick slice from 1 long side of each tomato. Turn tomatoes onto cut sides so they sit flat, then slice crosswise at 1/4-inch intervals, leaving bottom 1/4 inch of each tomato intact.

Process 3/4 cup Gruyère, basil, oil, panko, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in food processor until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, about 10 seconds.

Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Combine 3/4 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper in bowl. Carefully open tomato slices and sprinkle with salt-pepper mixture. Using small spoon, spread basil mixture evenly between tomato slices (about 2 tablespoons per tomato).

Arrange tomatoes on prepared wire rack. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup Gruyère over tomatoes. Broil until cheese is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Serve.