Oven-Baked Lemon Cod

Last week my husband went over to the discount supermarket and picked up two whole cod fillets for $10 and change.

These cod fillets were huge! In fact, it was pretty much an entire fish, sans head and bones!

For anyone who is on a budget, especially in the current economic state, I highly suggest you seek out discount supermarkets in your area. Last month, my husband and I bought almost $300 worth of groceries for less than $90! That included luxuries such as steaks, fish, fresh blueberries, strawberries, artichokes, etc!

On this last trip, my husband came home with steaks and fish, next time he has his eye on buying lobster tails!

Many of these stores have restaurant packaging so you could easily buy a huge packet of French fries for $1 or $2! When my husband and I went last month, eggs were on sale for 50cents a dozen... we bought 8 dozen!

It truly is well-worth your checking out, some stores are not as well laid out as others, but keeping an open mind and keeping a look-out for great deals and a recipe progressing in your head as you browse through the shop, will enable you to make some amazing buys.

This weekend, I decided to make the fish. Since the fillets were in one bag and I did not want to re-freeze the other fillet once it was defrosted, this meal gave us two dinners. (Note: Re-freezing meats and fish that have been thawed can lead to the meat or fish going bad. Once defrosted, use the meat or fish within one day.)

With just a little butter, a little salt and pepper, and some thinly sliced vegetables and lemon, these fish fillets are so easy to make, fast to make, delicious and incredibly healthy. You can serve them with boiled potatoes, steamed brown rice, barley "risotto", or oven-baked potatoes (like I did... I'd been craving baked potatoes for about a week!).

You can also serve it with a lovely crisp salad.

I can't wait to go back again this week and get more fish and may even splurge for a couple of lobster tails! Stay tuned to this page for more wild and wacky recipes coming up!

Happy Cooking, Happy Eating!


Ingredients:

Cod fillets
1/4 stick of butter, thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced very thinly
2 zucchinis, sliced very thinly
1 carrot, julienned
1 red pepper, julienned
1 lemon, sliced very thinly seeds removed
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 400*F

1. On a large piece of aluminium foil (long enough to fit around the fish and roll to create a "parcel"), lay the butter slices down. Place the vegetables over top in layers and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.
2. Lay fish fillet over top of vegetables, sprinkle salt and pepper to taste, place sliced lemon over top of fillets. Depending how large the fillets are, using a half-side of fish, lay 3-5 lemon slices over top.
3. Pull the aluminium foil up and meet the edges together and fold over, continue to fold over until just above the fish, leaving a little room for the parcel to expand and steam the fish and vegetables. Fold over the sides and make sure the entire parcel is sealed well. Place on a cookie sheet and put into the oven. Bake for 25 minutes.

Serve with oven roasted potatoes, baked potato, steamed brown (or red) rice, or barley risotto.

TIP: These fish parcels can be cooked on the BBQ as well. Make sure you use a heavy-duty aluminium foil if you do.