With Grandma now living with us, it has been interesting to see what a creature of habit she is. She's got her routines in the morning and afternoon, and follows a strict after-dinner clean-up/Wheel of Fortune schedule at night. She also has her "places". The Italian pastry shop down the road, the Chinese food place up the block, the ONLY diner (in a town that has 5 within two seconds from each other) that she likes because they make her Western Omelette to perfection. Oh yeah, and her #1 Italian restaurant choice of all time. Obvi. I used to work there in high school and I would stuff my face all day long. Shocking, I know.
When you order from their takeout menu, they give you a few mini baguettes on the side. Alone, they are fantasic, and with the food they are perfection, but they have so much potential outside of the takeout box (see what I did there?).
Croutons.
Crispy. Crunchy. Warm. Did I say crispy?
What you will need for 1.5 cups:
- 2 small baguettes
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil for the frying pan, plus some more for drizzling
- 1/2 tablespoon of oregano
- 1/2 tablespoon of basil
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1/2 tablespoon parsley
Cut the bread into cubes and set aside. In a large frying pan, heat the 3 tablespoons of olive oil for about 30 seconds. Place the bread cubes face down in the oil, and toast until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Once golden, flip the bread to toast up the other side. Drizzle with some additional olive oil and sprinkle with the oregano, basil, garlic powder and parsley. Toast for another 5 minutes, and do a quick stir to mix everything together.
Serve immediately.
I prefer to eat these alone, but if you're normal, I guess you can put them in a salad or something *wink*
Xoxo
Jillian
