Breaded Lamb Chops

Broiled lamb chops with a seasoned bread crumb crust

Before my husband left for  his 2 month work trip I made him a good dinner.  Hubby always complains about not having good home cooked meals and eating out too much while away so I always try to do something special before he leaves and when he gets back.  He loves lamb and when ever I see it on sale I pick it up so I had some lamb chops.  Lamb is somewhat intimidating for me because I never grew up eating it, and I don't have the chance to cook it often.  My idea was to make breaded lamb chops similar to the shake-n-bake pork chops I grew up eating. I made fresh bread crumbs from the end of my Ricotta Bread loaf, added some spices and covered the lamb chops with it.  The method of cooking the chops I found online, I just googled 'how to cook lamb chops' and found plenty of ideas so I chose to broil them.


Ingredients:

1 cup bread crumbs or left over bread
pinch of salt and pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp minced onion
2 lamb chops (about 1 inch thick)
pinch salt and pepper
4 tsp Dijon mustard


Cut the bread into cubes and pulse in a blender to make crumbs.  Add salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, garlic, and onion, pulse a few more times to help chop and mix in the herbs.

Meanwhile, allow lamb chops to sit out at room temperature for at least 1 hour so the chops are no longer cold.  Season chops (one side at a time) with salt and pepper then brush with 1 tsp of mustard (per chop, per side) and sprinkle on the bread crumbs, press to adhere. Do the same on the other side.

Place chops in a baking pan and broil about 3 inches from the heat element for about 10 minutes per side.  (I used the toaster oven so the time may be different for a conventional oven).  Let rest for about 5 minutes before serving.  Serves 2.  I served the chops on top of barley with roasted Brussels sprouts on the side (I just recently found out that it is Brussels--as in Brussels, Belgium--sprouts not brussel sprouts).  Enjoy.