Homemade Croutons

Remember those bread scraps and heals from the grilled cheese I made last week?  I made croutons out of them!!  Of course, you don't have to wait for scraps--you can make croutons with perfectly good bread.  I love using a loaf of French bread.

Either way, simply cut the bread to whatever size you want.  Because I was using scraps, I went for small croutons.  Spread them out on a jelly roll pan and leave them out to get dry and stale.  This is the key to crunchy croutons.

My croutons never come out the same because I usually don't measure.  Feel free to diverge from the recipe.  Add dried herbs, omit the cheese, use more garlic...it's up to you!

Homemade Croutons
3 c. stale bread cubes
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
a few dashes pepper
1/4-1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese



Preheat oven to 375.  Place bread in large bowl.  Drizzle with olive oil while tossing.  Add remaining ingredients, tossing to thoroughly coat.  Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.  Spread in single layer on shallow pan.

Bake until golden, stirring occasionally.  May take as little as 8 minutes or as many as 15 depending on your oven, bakeware, and size of croutons.  Just keep checking them.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO BURN THEM!  I overdid my batch while I was distracted with kids, but they still tasted yummy!

These are great with Caesar salad!