Making Croutons

When I was in college, I worked at a family owned Italian restaurant.  There were very few things that weren't homemade and I picked up a thing or two.  I've been perusing the internet (mostly Pinterest) for a good crouton recipe and I just haven't been able to find one that sounds right to me.  So, I decided to make my own recipe.  I had some leftover hot dog and hamburger buns that were just going to get tossed, anyway. Why not spend a Saturday making variations of croutons to find the best one to share with you?!  Well, I started with two recipes and decided they were both delicious.  So, it's your lucky day; a two-for-one!

Before you get started: Whatever bread you have, cut it up into one inch pieces, throw into a bowl, and cover with a hand towel for a few hours.  The point is to have stale bread.  I find that if you start out with pretty stale bread to begin with, you're off to a good start and can probably make the croutons within just a couple of hours of cutting up the bread.  If your bread is still a bit fresh, you're better off leaving the pieces overnight.

So, now that you have 1-inch pieces of stale bread, here are the recipes:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of the aforementioned stale bread

  

  With Olive Oil

• 3T Olive Oil
• 1t Garlic Powder
• 1t Onion Powder
• 1t Parsley (fresh, dried, whatever you have)

-OR-

With Butter

• 3 cups of bread
• 2-3T butter
• 1t Parsley
• 1-1/2t Grated Parmesan
• 1/4t salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Toss the ingredients in a mixing bowl.
3. Spread the bread on a baking sheet.
4. Bake for 10 minutes, shake them around a little to make sure they're not stuck to the sheet, and bake for another 10 minutes.

And now you have croutons!  Croutons that you made all on you own with left over bread.  Good for you for not wasting food!  Don't you feel better about yourself?  You can use the same process for breadcrumbs. Once they're baked, just put them in a food processor and chop until you have the consistency that you desire.

Keep in mind, you can mix up the spices to make all different flavors.  Aren't you just so excited to have a salad?  Actually, if it wasn't July, I think I'd be making French onion soup right now!  (Recipe coming as soon as it cools the F down)

Breaded Broccoli

 

A delicious way to get your picky eaters to eat their veggies! Plus it's only 64 calories and 4.3 grams of fat per serving! (Based on 8 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb broccoli (about 3 crowns), florets only (you can use a bag of frozen, but this recipe turns out better with fresh broccoli)
• 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons butter, margarine, or use olive oil for a healthier version, separated and melted
• 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons bread crumbs of your choice (I've used original, Italian style, and Panko... all great turn outs!)
• 1/8 teaspoon seasoning salt (optional)
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

1. Preheat broiler on high
2. Cook broccoli florets in boiling water until tender.
3. While broccoli is cooking, mix 2 teaspoons of melted butter with the rest of the dry ingredients.
4. Once broccoli is done, toss in 2 tablespoons of melted butter and place in 8"x8" baking dish.
5. Sprinkle mixture over broccoli.
6. Broil for 4-5 minutes until top becomes browned/crispy.

BBQ Chicken and Breaded Broccoli

The last thing I wanted to do when I got home last night was cook dinner.  Unfortunately, I had already taken chicken out of the freezer and it needed to be cooked.  Thankfully, I already had a few crowns of broccoli in the fridge, so something chicken and broccoli was a given.

My mom has always had a go-to dish for parties: BBQ Chicken legs.  She loves how easy it is to make, and everyone else raves about how great the chicken is.  So, I decided to make a variation of that with boneless/skinless chicken breasts... even my husband was impressed!

 

Oven BBQ Chicken Breasts

The broccoli dish I made has always been a favorite.  It's very easy to throw together while the chicken is cooking and, since the oven is already hot, all you need to do is switch to the broiler and pop the broccoli in once the chicken is done!

Breaded Broccoli