Clouds, Coughs, and Croutons

I woke up with this really annoying, persistent cough yesterday morning that just won’t go away. My mom was sick this week, so I either inherited from her or an unknown source, like Walmart, where we stopped on the way home from Aunt Gina’s on Tuesday night. I really dislike that store, but we needed Swiffer refills and cat litter, and every other store is 20 miles away. Not exaggerating! It might also be my sinuses and/or allergies. Who knows. All I know is that I have a constant tickle in my throat. Thankfully, it hasn’t interrupted my sleep; those are the worst kinds of coughs.

Another cloudy Spring day here in the Catskills. The forecast is predicting snow tonight. And not just a little; a Nor’Easter dropping 5-8 inches. Ugh. Jack Frost, didn’t we breakup almost 2 weeks ago?! He just doesn’t get that I’m no longer interested.

Between my cough and the dreary weather, I’ve been thinking about soups. I don’t especially feel like making any from scratch right now, so I’ll probably have Health Valley no salt added canned soup or Trader Joe’s low-sodium soup. I thought about how good croutons would be in a hot cup of soup, so with a loaf of stale Italian bread lingering on the counter, I decided to make some homemade croutons. It’s really easy, and you can use just about any bread you want.

Homemade Garlic & Parmesan Italian Croutons

Step 1: Slice your bread if it’s not already.

Step 2: Cut it into bite-sized cubes, or whichever size you prefer.

Step 3: Add all the cubes to a large bowl.

Step 4: Pretend you’re a skillful photographer/kitchen guru like The Pioneer Woman by taking action shots. Drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil.

Step 5: Sprinkle with garlic powder, about 2-3 TBSP grated parmesan cheese, and a few teaspoons of dried oregano; toss together with your hands or large spoon.

Step 6: Spread seasoned and oiled bread cubes on a baking sheet lined with your choice of nonstick component.

Step 7: Place in preheated 200 degrees F (or less) oven and bake until all croutons are dry and golden brown. (The lowest temperature on my oven is 200F degrees, so it only took about an hour. Plus, my bread was pretty dry to start with.)

Shout out to Averie for inspiring me to use a pretty scarf for a backdrop!

They turned out perfectly! Just like you would buy in the store. Crispy, light, and flavorful. I’ve made homemade croutons in the past with slices of regular bread, but this was my first attempt at making them the right way, so I’m pleased with how they turned out. I’ll never throw out a loaf of stale bread again. Not when these are so easy to make and go great with so many things—or even just to snack on by themselves. I’ve been picking on them since they came out of the oven.

I wish I had some of the croutons for my salad last night!!

I’m so disappointed in the tubs of Earthbound Farms spring mix I buy from ShopRite. Half of it is inedible due to being wilted or spotted from bugs. It’s so expensive, too! Very frustrating, because I really love it, but have a hard time finding decent tubs of it. And I thoroughly inspect it in the store, but the middle parts are usually where the nasties dwell. I wish I could buy frisee separately. I LOVE it, but have never seen it for sale by itself. Hopefully I’ll find it one day.

In AeroGardening news, we have a basil sprout!!

YAY! I can’t wait for them to be fully grown. So exciting!

I’m going to make a shopping list for my mom now. I want some Luden’s cough drops. They’re sooo yummy! Like candy. Well, technically they ARE.

Do you like croutons? What is your favorite flavor? How do you eat them?

Tagged as: AeroGarden, croutons, homemade croutons