Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops

Courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis

As you may or may not be able to tell, I love Giada. I've made a lot of her recipes and am usually very satisfied! This is a great recipe for breaded pork chops and I decided to throw in something healthy and just heated up some green beans (yes, all I did was heat those up). This is a fairly easy recipe - the only downside is that you use a lot of dishes in the process :)

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs
• 3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
• 4 (1/2 to 3/4-inch thick) center-cut pork loin chops (each about 10 to 12 ounces)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons olive oil 

Whisk the eggs in a pie plate/bowl to blend. Place the bread crumbs in another pie plate/blend. Place the cheese in a third pie plate/bowl. Sprinkle the pork chops generously with salt and pepper. Coat the chops completely with the cheese, patting to adhere. Dip the chops into the eggs, then coat completely with the bread crumbs, patting to adhere. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add pork chops, in batches if necessary, and cook until golden brown and the center reaches 150 degrees, about 6 minutes per side.

Note: For my first batch, I accidentally mixed the cheese and bread crumbs together in one pie plate. I dipped the chops in the egg and then the bread crumb/cheese mixture. I actually found these cooked better than having everything separate, as in the recipe.  The chops burnt more easily following the recipe's instructions.