Homemade Croutons

 

This recipe is for you if you a) hate store-bought croutons and think they taste like cardboard and b) like easy recipes and c) love salad.

This is dedicated to you Missy, who, in a recent spaghetti and salad post, confessed your dire hatred for pre-packaged croutons. And it's totally your style because it’s frickin’ e-a-s-y!

All you need is some good bread. French bread, sour dough, crusty wheat, whatever. This is the perfect thing to do with day or two old bread. Cut it into 1 inch cubes and throw them in a plastic baggie. Shake the bread cubes with a generous drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano or parsley. Spread them on a baking sheet and bake on 350 until golden brown. (the only hard part is you can't get busy and forget to watch them like I did, below. Good thing I had extra bread!) Pull them out and let them cool and harden. These last for at least a week stored in a sealed plastic bag so you can use them all week in your salads.

 

Cut...

 

Toss...

 

Burn... oops. Don't be like me. Let's try that again.

 

Perfect.

 

Clearly the Croutons are the star of this Caesar Salad.

 

 

 

To make the semi-homeade Caesar salad above, slice some romaine lettuce, roast some garlic (wrap a head of garlic in tinfoil and bake at 350 for 45 min, cool, then peel), add some grilled chicken, homemade croutons, a slice of lemon and toss with your favorite Caesar dressing.