Oven Fried Perch

Believe it or not, I have not fallen off the face of the Earth! "Craziness" is too mild of a word to describe my life at the moment. My husband just completed his first semester of nursing school, but throughout the course of the semester, meal-planning was a bit challenging. Last semester, he worked (2) night shifts and I've been trying to pick up as many shifts as possible at the hospital, in addition to raising two very active little ones! Not only has it been difficult to muster up the energy to cook, but it's hard to experiment much while living on such a strict budget. I've become quite the little "couponer" and find that most everything I purchase is purchased almost exclusively with coupons (aside from meat and produce, of course), which doesn't always give me much to work with! This coming semester appears as if it will be a little easier, primarily because my husband will only be going to school 2 days/week for the first 8 weeks and he'll be able to work (2) day shifts. The problem, though, is that even when he and I work day shifts, it means we don't get home until at least 8-8:30pm, so we're generally looking for very quick meal ideas! This particular recipe was perfect for last night! I defrosted a package of perch fillets and I'm not exaggerating when I say that between prep and cooking time, my meal was complete in 15 minutes! That gave my husband just enough time to put the kids to bed and take a quick shower, so we could both enjoy a meal together at the end of a very long day! (I forgot to mention that I spent probably close to 6 hours at three different grocery stores with my 3 year old...enough said!) While I do generally prefer a more "crisp" coating, it was very tasty and certainly more healthy than frying. We will definitely make this again!

I hope everyone had a very nice holiday season! Wishing all of you a very Happy (and healthy) New Year!!! Oh, and just as a little side note...my sister, Sarah, just started a new blog--make sure to check it out! (Amateur Foodie)

Oven Fried Perch

1 lb Perch Fillets
2 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese - grated
1/2 Cup Dry Bread Crumbs
1/2 Tsp. Thyme
1/4 Cup Milk
1 Tbsp. Margarine, melted

Directions:

Combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and thyme in a shallow bowl. Dip perch fillets in milk and then coat each fillet with bread crumb mixture. Lay in single layer on greased shallow baking pan. Drizzle with melted margarine. Bake in oven at 450 degrees for approximately 10 or until perch flakes easily with a fork.

***Serves 2*** (Perfect for a late night meal for my husband and I, but definitely not enough food for more than 2 people, so make sure you adjust your ingredients accordingly!)

Source: activeangler.com