Juicy Pork Chops

• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons EACH: onion powder and garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon EACH: salt, pepper, and oregano
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 4 – (1 ¼ inch thick) boneless pork chops

INSTRUCTIONS

• Turn your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
• In a small bowl, mix together the paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and oregano.
• Drizzle the 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over both sides of the pork chops. Sprinkle the spice mix evenly over both sides of the pork chops and place them in a baking dish. (see notes) Drizzle them with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.
• Bake the pork chops for 18 minutes, or until they reach an internal temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Once you remove them from the oven, let them rest in the pan for 5 minutes before serving.

NOTES

• Try to choose a baking dish that is just the right size for the pork chops. You don't want there to be too much room between the chops or the juices will evaporate in the oven.
• Bake your pork chops for 7 minutes per ½ inch of thickness. Add an extra minute for each ½ inch if you're using bone-in pork chops.

MY NOTES

• This is going to turn into my go-to recipe for thicker chops.  They were very not-dry!
• I put 6 chops in a square glass baking dish - a pretty snug fit. They were about 1.25" thick.
• Instead of this spice blend, I just used some pre-mixed thing (something free I got at the State Fair supplemented with a little Famous Dave's chicken blend)
• I poured a little olive oil on a plate, dipped the chop on both sides, sprinkled seasoning on one side and put it face down in the baking dish, sprinkle more seasoning on top and bake.
• The method (highlighted above) is the key to this recipe.