Baked Stuffed Halibut

Step 1: Preheat oven to 325F (165C). Using a baking dish just large enough to hold the fillets & their sauce, spray it w/non-stick cooking spray & set aside.

Step 2: In a sml bowl, mix together the softened cream cheese, lemon juice & shrimp. Season w/basil plus salt & pepper to taste.

Step 3: Make a pocket in ea of the 4 fillets. Be sure you do not cut through on 3 sides. Divide the cream cheese mixture in half & stuff the fillets w/half of the mixture. Spread the remaining half of the shrimp mixture over the tops of the fillets & sprinkle w/a dusting of Old Bay Seasoning & dried dill (if using) over the surfaces.

Step 4: Bake for 25-30 min or until fish is fully cooked. Serve over rice w/a lemon wedge on-the-side. Be sure to spoon any excess sauce over the fillets & lightly dust w/Old Bay & dill again as desired.

NOTE #1 - If the halibut fillets are too thin to form pockets & stuff them, then use 8 thin fillets, spread the shrimp mixture on half of them, top w/a 2nd fillet & spread the remaining shrimp mixture on top

NOTE #2 - When fully cooked, the shrimp mixture will have formed a sauce. The proportions of this recipe were designed by me to allow for extra sauce (1 main goal suggested by the reviews)

NOTE #3 - The use of Old Bay Seasoning was my addition, primarily because reviews suggested the sauce was good, but the fish fillets would benefit from more flavor. Old Bay is a favorite & always works that magic for me. :-)

NOTE RE PICS & METHOD - Made this today (6/14/16) for a pic B4 baking, after baking & to see if the methods could be improved. Both methods work, but I improved on the 1st option of splitting the thick fillets. I carefully cut an opening on 1 side only so the other 3 sides stayed intact. Then I put the fillet in the baking dish w/the side opposite the cut side on the surface of the pan & gently pressed on the fillet. This created a "boat-like" opening where I mounded the filling. It cooked well that way & NO filling escaped until I plated the fillet & intentionally opened it so the filling could be seen in the pic. For the thin fillets, I followed the method from NOTE #1, secured the fillet w/toothpicks & then spooned the sauce from the pan over the fillet when fully cooked.