Homemade Croutons. Duh.

photo by Matt Haas This might be the biggest no brainer ever.  

Ingredients:

• Bread
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Parmesan Cheese  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut bread into cubes and toss with oil, salt & pepper and a generous dusting of parm.  Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and cook until golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Add to your soup or salad while still warm.

photo by Matt Haas

Notes: I always have some frozen bread in the freezer - maybe half a baguette, the end of a rustic loaf, whatever.  Fresh bread is fine, but this is a really great use of leftovers.  I love cooking up a small batch of homemade croutons and tossing in a salad while they are still a little warm.  Trust me.

photo by Matt Haas

Comments

[nick]

No brainer, perhaps. Absolutely a world away from store bought junk, definitely.

I have found that tossing the bread in a deep vessel (I use a cast iron pot) along with a little butter/oil combo for about 5 minutes will result in an evening coating throughout and they will come out baked better. I also like to add a touch of garlic flavoring when it compliments what I'm serving them on/with.

I wrote a post about the ones I make for a Caesar salad a little while back on my blog.