Croutons!

Everyone loves croutons on their salads, of course you do. But did you know that you can easily make them at home using bread that might otherwise be thrown out! Getting rid of leftovers the tasty way!

First, chop up a hunk of bread that's on its way to the rubbish. Not moldy, but stale. Leftover bagels are my favorite and can create some very interesting flavors, but any non-white (ie, Wonderbread and the like, the texture is too airy) bread is fine. Also, the texture of bagels is perfectly chewy and soaks up the spices very well.

Got the bread chopped? Good. Now, arrange the pieces on a cookie sheet, and lightly coat with olive oil (I like extra virgin, but any will do). Next, sprinkle lightly with powdered garlic or garlic salt. Careful, because too much garlic will just result in a salty mess. Add paprika, black pepper, lemon pepper, parmesean cheese, whatever your liking, be creative!

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, keeping an eye on them to make sure that they don't burn. Pull them out, use to top soups, salads, whatever! So tasty!