February 19, 2013

Don't Buy It: Croutons!


Now that the whole blog renaming fiasco is over with... Gosh what a mess. I really hope it updated everyone's feed and didn't get lost. How about a recipe?

I have a unnatural completely normal love of croutons. I love them on salads, like them in soups, and have been known to snack on half a bag before dinner...

I've tried making my own before, but they always wound up being burned to a non-tasty crisp whether I tired making them under the broiler or frying them in a pan or any other method.

Then Ben got me Jaques Pepin's Essential Pepin for Christmas. We watch his show on PBS and he's so charming and wonderful and he makes me want to make everything he cooks, even if we really would never eat it (like liver pate wrapped in cucumber and topped with roe.) I wish he was my grandpa!

Anyway, he has a few different soup recipes that use these croutons and they have been the easiest, quickest, and most delicious things I have ever tasted. I've made them three times already and they've turned out perfectly every time. I've been adding a bit of salt, garlic powder and onion powder for extra flavor, but they are really good with just the olive oil. My favorite part is that this is just one more skill/recipe I can tuck into my pocket and I never have to buy these again! Plus they are a great use for leftover bread that needs to be used up.

Homemade Croutons
3-4 slices stale bread of just about any type
1-2 Tbs olive oil
My Optional addition: Salt & seasonings

Preheat oven to 400*.
Cube bread into bite sized (around 1 inch) pieces.
Pour olive oil into the middle of a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle on some salt and seasonings if you like. Add bread on top of oil, then toss with fingers to coat evenly.
 Bake 8-10 minutes, tossing half way through to brown evenly. 

Happy Eating!
Meg

6 comments:

Kim said...

I love croutons too, but you are much more ambitious than I am. I still buy the bag :)

Farm Girl said...

They sound so yummy. This works until you get chickens. They love bread. :)
I love croutons too.

Kessie said...

Ryan's a huge fan of homemade croutons, and he taught me how to make them. I just toast them under the broiler and sprinkle garlic salt on them. They go great with pea soup. :-)

Allison said...

I made my own croutons once because I had none in the pantry, and they were delicious! I completely agree! Add Italian seasonings, too. SO good. And SO much less expensive.

no spring chicken said...

Do I see crusts.. because I've always had issues with the crust getting too hard?

I'll try it!

Blessings, Debbie

Staci@LifeAtCobbleHillFarm said...

I love homemade croutons....yum! They are also a great use for old bread. Cube it, freeze it, and then take it out, thaw it and bake it into croutons when needed! I'm with you on Jaques Pepin - we love watching his show from time to time.

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