Easy Homemade Croutons

Last night we ended up doing salad for dinner. I don't know why we don't do this more often because whenever my husband and I go out to eat that's usually what we always get! Salads at restaurants just seem to taste so much better than salads at home!  We didn't have any croutons on hand, so I decided to whip up my own-I know this is a fairly easy thing to do, and I'm not sure why it took me so long to make my own! I usually try and keep some kind of frozen crusty bread in the freezer- you never know when cravings for spinach artichoke dip will arise and darn it if you don't any crusty bread to dip it in, so it was as perfect a night as ever to try it out!

I wanted thicker croutons (reminds me of the yummy salads from Potbelly), so they ended up being really crunchy. I ended up just tossing a few ingredients here and there (I'm thinking next time actually combining regular bread with a rye bread or something else more flavorful!) I loved the way they turned out, and actually think I probably won't be buying them anymore now that they're so quick and easy to make! The leftovers can also be stored in an airtight container too- but they probably won't last too long, because they're pretty good to just munch on too!

Homemade Croutons:

• small loaf of french bread (the one I used was about 6 inches)
• 3 tbsp butter (if you prefer not to use butter, I'm betting olive oil will be just as yummy!)
• 2 tbsp parmesan romano grated cheese
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• sprinkle of oregano, salt and pepper

• cut bread into one inch cubes
• melt butter in a bowl and combine parmesan cheese and garlic powder
• toss bread cubes into melted butter, and sprinkle with oregano, salt, and pepper to taste
• bake at 325 for approximately 25 minutes (turning bread cubes halfway)