Crisp Baked Pork Chops

I was thinking earlier today about the dinner I had planned for tonight (a new recipe that I was really looking forward to trying), and I thought that I could modify it a bit and do it in the crockpot instead. After I fed the baby I went to the pantry and discovered that I was missing one of the main ingredients. I could have sworn I had some of it (I'm being vague because I'll make this next week and don't want to give anything away...because it's so important that I keep it a secret...please note the sarcastic tone in that last statement), so I was really surprised to find I didn't have it after all. One of the main reasons I was going to make it was that I had everything on hand except one small thing. Oh well. Better to find that out at 2:00 instead of 5:00!

So I looked through a couple cookbooks and couldn't really find anything that sounded good, which of course meant I turned to RecipeZaar.com. I wanted something with pork chops, so I entered in a bunch of search parameters (I LOVE the search feature on there!) and found this that sounded simple and tasty.

Crisp Baked Pork Chops
Recipe #40082 By: Dancer^

2/3 cup cornflake crumbs
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 egg white, lightly beaten
4 (4 ounce) boneless center cut pork chops (1 pound)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Combine cornflake crumbs, flour, paprika, thyme, garlic powder, cumin, salt, pepper and sugar in a large resealable plastic bag. Brush egg white over both surfaces of each chop. Place them, 1 or 2 at a time, in bag with mix, and shake bag to thoroughly coat pork.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the pork is cooked through to an internal temperature of 145 degrees.

*****

Sounds easy, and I have everything on hand for them. I think I'll keep the side dishes simple--baked potatoes and some kind of vegetable.

*****

These were REALLY good. For some reason when I was putting everything together I thought they were going to turn out gross, but I don't know why. I ended up putting the pork chops on a baking rack on the cookie sheet so they wouldn't get soggy on the bottom. I also flipped them over halfway through the cooking time. The boy helped me mix up the coating--he crushed the cornflakes and then helped add in the spices. I love that he loves to help in the kitchen. He always wants to taste everything we're putting in, too, which I think is very cool. One of the comments on the recipe said they had spread mayonnaise over the pork chops instead of using eggs, so that's what I did because I was feeling lazy. It was really yummy. The coating stayed crunchy, and the flavor was really good. I'd definitely make these again.

(Sorry...I forgot to take a picture of the finished product!)