Croutons

I have made croutons a few times - and not been totally happy with any that I've made... until today. What made the difference? THE BREAD! This is so easy it's crazy. I had some ciabatta that was going to go bad soon (I bought the bag of individual sized ciabatta rolls from Costco - but any ciabatta loaf will do).

Ciabatta bread

EVOO

Fresh cracked pepper

Kosher salt

Garlic powder

Cut the bread into 1"cubes(ish). I got a large bowl out and put all the spices in with the EVOO and mixed it around a bit. Then I threw the bread in (right before I was ready to put them in the oven) and tossed them in the dressing (with my hands) then put them on my baking pan (covered with aluminum for easy cleaning). Bake them at 350 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes - or until they satisfy your personal crunch factor.

You can store them in an air tight container for up to 1 week.