Home Made Croutons

Have a left over chunk of a baguette, Italian, French or Rustic bread? Make croutons for salad to add another flavor and crunch to your salad.
With some basic everyday ingredients from your spice cabinet and refrigerator this is so easy to throw together.
And, it sure tastes a thousand times better than croutons from a box. From start to finish you are looking at about 20 minutes to make them. You'll need a serrated bread knife and a baking sheet lined with foil for easy clean up.

• day old bread cut into cubes (about 2 cups or so)
• one big handful (or about 3-4 tbsp.) of grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp. granulated garlic
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. dried parsley flakes (optional)
• 1/8 tsp. finely ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp. melted butter
• 1 tbsp. olive oil

Cut your bread into bite sized cubes using a serrated knife.

Put the cut cubes in a bowl and toss in the Parmesan cheese and spices along with the melted butter and olive oil. Give a good toss with your hands to coat all the pieces.

Place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven or as shown, toaster oven for about 15 minutes or so until they are golden brown.

This is the color you are looking to achieve - you may however toast them longer if you wish. Allow them to cool down a bit and add them to your favorite salad at meal time.

Ah, these were so good on my salad last night that I kept snacking on them throughout the evening. Admittedly there are very few left.