Croutons.

There's nothing like the wholesome crunch of a perfectly seasoned crouton on a fresh leafy salad... and nothing worse than bland, (or too salty) generic store-bought croutons.  Well, I guess there really are worse things, but they're not that far off.

So grab your stale bread, 'cause you know you're going to want to make these.  If you don't have stale bread and still want to make these, any bread will do.  I tell ya, good ideas, I'm full of em'.  You're welcome.

Just cut up the bread into chunks.  I like larger croutons, and the bread we currently have, what's shown here, is Ezekiel bread.  Really, any kind will do, baguettes, homemade, sliced or unsliced, and the list can go on forever.  But since I know that you really want to make these, I won't go on forever.

With the bread cut up, mix a concoction of about a 1/4 cup olive oil and your seasoning.  I used a little sea salt, agave nectar, rosemary, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and 1 tbls water.  This is just a base recipe, you can freely add ingredients to achieve the flavor you like.  I actually really like this flavor, try it and see if you do too!

Ok, where were we.... oh yeah, spread the bread out onto a pan greased with plain olive oil, and brush the oil/seasoning mixture on top.

Bake for about 20 minutes, flipping the croutons over every 5 minutes, you don't want them to burn.

Mmmmm. Croutons.

Our recipe:

Preheat to 325°

About 3 cups of stale bread cut up
1/4 cup olive oil
Handful of rosemary
1/3 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp water
Sugar or agave (optional)

Directions:
Remove rosemary leaves from stem and finely, finely chop (or use the seasoning from the jar if that's what you've got). Combine olive oil, rosemary, salt, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and a tablespoon of water in a bowl (if you're using agave nectar, add in here). Whisk together and set aside.
Cut up your bread. Brush your pan with a nice layer of unseasoned olive oil. Place bread cubes on pan. Lightly brush each cube with the seasoned olive oil (it’s okay if you don’t get all sides exactly the same). Sprinkle a little more salt over cubes (optional).
Bake on middle rack for about 20 minutes. You’ll need to flip the cubes every five minutes so they don’t burn.  If you're using sugar, then sprinkle before they cool.

Enjoy!