Three Step Croutons

I've mentioned my love of cooking before on the blog but I haven't really shared any recipes, which is something I definitley want to start doing! Lately I've been experimenting with making ingrediants from  scratch, saying goodbye to jars of sauces and packages of seasonings. I usually start by researching a whole bunch of different recipes for the same thing,  finding the similarities, reading the comments if there are any and then diving in headfirst! 

Last week I made homemade croutons and after using them in salads all week and crushing them into bread crumbs to use over mac & cheese I don't think I'll be going back to packaged croutons any time soon! They were so easy to make and a big batch should last 2-3 months. 

Ingredients 

• 6 Cups Stale Bread Cubes (I used 10 dinner rolls)
• 5 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 3 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
• 3 Tablespoons Oregano 
• 2 Tablespoons Parsley
• 1 Tablespoon Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Pepper

*Seasonings are something you can really play around with! I knew I would mainly be eating these in salads so I wanted them to have a traditional Garlic & Herb taste. The next time I make them I think I will play around with cayenne, paprika and garlic to create a spicy crouton. 

Directions

Pre-Heat oven to 375. 

Step One: Spread cubed bread in a single layer on a cookie sheet. 

Step Two: Sprinkle with olive oil and spices. Use your hands to toss the bread with the oil and spices. Step Three: Bake for 30 minutes, turning the croutons halfway through cooking. 

Keep your eye on the croutons! Depending on the temperature of your oven and the thickness of your cookie sheet they may not take as long to cook, or cook more quickly. If your croutons aren't fully dried out they will either go stale when you try to store them or will get mouldy. 

I added some to a salad with baby spinach, red onion, feta cheese, mushrooms and bacon topped with balsamic vinaigrette. And it was so good! I know croutons aren't the most healthy of salad toppings but I love having a little extra crunch in there and making them at home is definitely better than the bags from the grocery store! 

Gingerbread Coffee

I hate winter. It's cold and snowy, my feet are wet from the constant slush covering the ground. I never truly feel warm. It's dark out by 5 o'clock and even on the sunniest days the temperature never makes it anywhere near double digits.  I could go on for days, but there is one thing I like about winter : Winter = Gingerbread Season! I feel the way towards gingerbread season that most people feel towards Pumpkin Spice season. And while Gingerbread Season is still a month or so away I needed to satisfy the craving now.

 

So I turned to Pinterest and Google and searched "homemade gingerbread latte", "homemade gingerbread syrup" and "gingerbread coffee recipe". After much research I decided I was ready to accept the challenge and got to work. 

I didn't use any of the recipes I found because they were all for giant batches and I do not need 2L of gingerbread syrup, especially when I had no idea how it would turn out. 

First up I gathered my supplies! All  the recipes I found were inconsistent with ingredients. So I used what I would use if I was making gingerbread cookies. Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, vanilla, white sugar and brown sugar. I didn't have any nutmeg on hand but I would have added some of that if had been in my cupboard.

I put everything in a small pot on medium heat and said a little prayer that the outcome would be more delicious than disaster. I brought it to a boil and whisked it all together. It took awhile for the cinnamon to incorporate into the liquid, which made me nervous but after 5 minutes or so it became more of a syrup. 

Once it boiled I reduced the heat and let it simmer for another 15 minutes. At that point it looked pretty syrupy so I removed it from heat and poured it into a glass dish to let cool. 

I'm not that patient so I used some of it right away. I made a cup of coffee with the Keurig and put about 2 Tablespoons of the syrup in my cup of coffee and it definitely tasted like gingerbread! 

 

I did find it a little sweet, so if I make it again I would use a little less sugar (although not too much less because otherwise it wouldn't form a syrup) and be a little more heavy handed with the spices. It could also just be that I used too much syrup or the coffee could have been stronger. Lots of variables and room for experimenting! 

Recipe is below and I'd love to hear how it turned out for you and what you did differently!