May 12, 2010

Cheesy Herbed Croutons

bread, cheese, Salad

Presented by

33 ratings

Prep time: 11 minutes
Baking time: 6 minutes
Servings: Makes 1 1/2 cups

We sneaked so many of these crisp croutons to nibble that there were hardly enough left for the salad.

Ingredients

3 slices white bread with crusts
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Directions

1

Preheat the oven to 400F. Cut bread slices into 3/4-inch cubes with a serrated knife. Crush the celery seed using a mortar and pestle.
2

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medum-high heat. Remove from heat. Stir in the crushed celery seed, Parmesan, garlic salt, oregano and basil. Add bread cubes and toss to coat.
3

Arrange the bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake, turning twice with a spatula, until lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Spread on paper towels. Let stand until cool. Store in an airtight container.
4

Variation: To microwave, heat butter in microwave- safe bowl. Stir in herbs. Add bread cubes and toss to coat. Spread cubes in a single layer in a microwave-safe dish. Microwave on HIGH, stirring twice, until lightly browned and sizzling, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Grandma's Secret Trick

When she wanted a snack or an appetizer, Grandma cut the bread into quarters instead of cubes. She omitted the celery seed and doubled the basil. The little toasts were terrific with lemonade and made a wonderful cracker to go with chicken salad or tuna salad. They were also a tasty accompaniment to vegetable soup, such as Hearty Minestrone.