You are going to fall in love with these tender Cilantro Parmesan Pork Chops! If you are not a fan of pork, you could always use chicken thighs or breast. You could even use this on a pork loin! Use your imagination.

I am all about cooking once & eating multiple times. My own version of prepping. If I’m going to get out all the stuff to “bread” something – messy task, then I might as well “bread” a lot of it & save some for later. I use the term “bread” loosely because our breading has no gluten or grains of any kind, but I think you are picking up what I am putting down.

For this recipe, we made 10. I froze 6. We ate 2 for dinner & have 2 ready for tomorrows lunch. The biggest issue with baking things a second time is they tend to dry out. My “trick is to under bake them the first time. I bake them until they are rare, about 12 minutes. Let them cool & put them in the fridge or the freezer. When we are ready to eat them, I put them in the oven at 400 for 10 minutes. If they were in the freezer, you must defrost them in the fridge first. This will help your chops finish cooking, but they will not get dried out.

I know some of you are asking yourself why I wouldn’t just put them in the microwave. Don’t even get me started, that is a rant for another day.

I am a big fan of marinating my meat & poultry. I think it gives a great base for whatever you are going to do with your meal. You could skip that step if you were in a hurry & just rub on some salt & pepper. You will find they are more tender & have so many subtle flavors if you marinate for at least a few hours. I generally pour my marinade on tomorrows meals, while I am fixing dinner the day before. That way I always have something ready.

Let’s talk about Parmigiano-Reggiano. Yep, that is the full name for Parmesan Cheese. The real stuff only has 3 ingredients & the taste is amazing. You can purchase pre-grated & pre-powdered Parmesan. It does have more ingredients, one of them is wood pulp. It won’t hurt you, just know it is there. I like the texture and taste of fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano. You can even skip the grated parm & just double dip on the powdered parm. You do what works for you!! Enjoy the process!

Ingredients:

  • 6 – 10 Pork Chops (chicken breast or thighs)
  • 1 recipe of Cilantro Mustard Marinade (here)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon of yellow mustard
  • 1 drop Lime Vitality Essential Oil (optional)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
  • 1-pound Parmesan Cheese, half finely grated & the other half powdered.

Directions:

  1. Cover pork chops or loin with Cilantro Mustard Marinade for at least 3 hours
  2. Heat oven to 400o
  3. Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  4. Crack & scramble 4 eggs, yellow mustard & (optional) Lime Vitality Essential Oil
  5. Pour powdered Parmesan Cheese on a plate with salt & pepper
  6. On another plate, add grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese with Italian Seasoning
  7. Remove excess marinade.
  8. Dip chicken or pork in the powdered Parmesan.
  9. Then dip it in the egg mixture
  10. Then in the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Make sure you press the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano into the meat.
  11. Place on baking sheet.
  12. Make sure you have an inch or so between each one.
  13. Place in a heated oven for 20 minutes or until pork is 145o & chicken is 165o.
  14. Let sit for at least 5 minutes before slicing.