Little Pleasures: Homemade Croutons

As much as we try to eat healthy foods, Brian and I are pretty much suckers for anything bad for us. If there is ever the option for extra meat, extra cheese, extra bacon, extra flavor, our response is inevitably an enthusiastic "Yes, please!"

I'm sure it goes without saying, then, that salads can get a little crazy in our house. 

One of our salad delights is homemade croutons. These are so easy and quick to make, and you probably already have everything you need to make them. 

Ingredients:

• Any type of dense bread (sandwich bread doesn't work quite as well, but leftover rolls, sourdough loaf, french bread, etc work great)
• EVOO
• 3-4 garlic cloves, smashed 
• Salt, to taste

Add garlic and EVOO (enough to coat the bottom of your pan) to a skillet. Turn heat on to medium.

While your oil is heating up, cut your bread into equal-sized cubes.

Using tongs, move the garlic around in the oil, and flip the garlic periodically.

When your garlic becomes golden brown on both sides, use tongs to remove and discard the garlic. You now have garlic olive oil!

Add your bread cubes to the pan, and toss with tongs to ensure the bread absorbs the oil. Season with salt, and continue to toss bread cubes until they become golden (about 5-7 minutes).

Remove bread from pan and drain on paper towels. Add these babies to your salad and you won't regret it!

Cheers!!