Last week I wrote a post about The Staff of Life. Fresh bread, made without preservatives, will get stale sooner than white plastic bread from the grocery store shelf. But don’t be too quick to throw stale bread out… it makes delicious croutons.

One of the benefits of being retired is having more time to pay attention to the little things. Things that make your life cozier and more gratifying. For me, one of those is making my own croutons. They are quick, easy and taste so much better than store bought. Besides, there is something very satisfying about using food up in new ways instead of throwing it away.

Croutons are simple to make. You just cube dried bread, toss with a little olive oil (and/or melted butter) and some seasonings. Lay them out on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and bake. Viola! You have croutons to sprinkle over a salad or toss in a bowl of soup for a little crunch.

Below is my favorite crouton recipe. It is an extra step when you sauté the garlic instead of just using garlic salt, but it does add a better flavor. If you don’t want to use butter, you can use olive oil or some combination of both. Either way, they are good.

The croutons last quite a while in an airtight container. But, if you have more than you can use, just crush some of them up and use as toasted breadcrumbs for some of your favorite dishes.

When you are cooking for just one or two people, the leftovers seem to pile up. (Except wine.) Like you, I hate wasting food. It makes me feel over indulged and I have visions of the poor starving kids in third world countries. So, I am always on the lookout for creative ways to use up leftovers. If you have any that you like to use, please share them in the comments.

Cheers to the retirement years!