Makin' Do in the Kitchen- Homemade Croutons

I like to buy fresh Italian and French bread, but we rarely finish it before it goes bad. Also, I often buy torpedo or kaiser rolls for parties, and of course I always end up with too many because I don't want to run out. These fresh breads and rolls tend to go bad very quickly. And with prices the way they are nowadays, it even seems a shame to throw away those dry crusty end pieces from the loaf of sliced bread we use for sandwiches and toast. So what to do with all of those bread scraps?

I throw them in a bag and stick it in the freezer. Any leftover pieces of bread that would normally get thrown out go in the bag. When I get a nice "collection," I make homemade croutons.

Cube up the bread and throw it in a big bowl.

(There's those whole wheat crusts that no one wants to make a sandwich out of....)

Drizzle the bread cubes with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and dried Italian seasoning. Toss to coat the bread cubes. (At this point you will be tempted to sample- they smell and taste like the bread that you dip in seasoned olive oil at the Italian restaurant.)

Place in a single layer on a sheet pan. Bake at 350 degrees about 10 minutes, stir, then continue baking until they are toasted (another 10 or 15 minutes.)

These actually got a little too brown. But they are still yummy. We put them on salads and float them on bowls of soup. We have also been known to eat them by the handful as a crunchy snack. Store them in a sealed plastic container, they will keep in a cool dark place (not the refrigerator) for a week or 2. They are a thousand times better than the croutons that you buy in a box at the grocery store.

Not bad for something that you were probably going to toss in the trash anyway, don't you think?

P.S. I know she doesn't read the blog (afterall, she still has trouble with the TV remote, God bless her, and I'm sure she has never even heard of a blog),  but

Happy 84th Birthday to my Grandma today!

(And thanks Grandma, for teaching me how to sew.... and crochet.... and paint ceramics....)