Making Croutons at Home

So these are super easy to make.  I usually don't buy croutons, but I've heard they're pretty expensive, much more expensive than 6 slices of bread, which is all you really need to make these.  So if you like croutons on your salad or floating on your soup, or just to snack on... try these out:

CROUTONS:

6 slices of bread, with the crusts cut off and cut into cubes
3 tablespoon of melted butter or olive oil, or a combination of the 2
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of chopped herb, like thyme or parsley
1/2 teaspoon of granulated garlic

Heat the oven to 300 degrees.  Put the bread cubes in a large bowl.  Mix the rest of the ingredients together, and drizzle them over the bread cubes, stirring them to get them evenly coated.  Put the bread cubes on a sheet pan in a single layer.  Try not to let them touch each other too much.  Put them in the 300 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Then stir them up and put them back in the oven for 15 more minutes.  That's all!!!

Vegetarian Side Dishes

I've been trying to write this post for a couple weeks now.. what's wrong with me????  I mean I'm busy like crazy but folks even busier than me are blogging!!

So, without further ado, let me just say that side dishes are the best!  Remember Livingston's at Thomas and Scottsdale Road?  They shut down a few years ago, but they used to have the best side dishes.  You could even skip the entree and just get a whole plate of side dishes if you wanted.... candy yams, okra, greens, mac and cheese.... mmmmmmm!!!!  I love the variety of having several side dishes, and besides, they're really good for you!  Eat your vegetables!!!!!

I'll start out with 3 good ones.  Sauteed spinach, grilled veggies, and puree of turnips.  "Turnips???" you might ask... they're the round white things with purple on one side, and they are DELICIOUS!!!

SAUTEED SPINACH (super easy):

Spinach - 2 bags

Garlic - 4 or 5 cloves, chopped

Olive oil - a couple tablespoons

Salt and Pepper

In a large frying pan (or wok), heat the oil and add the chopped garlic.  Then start adding the spinach.  It will shrink like crazy, so just keep adding spinach while stirring it once in a while with "tongs" (the grabbers with a spring).  Add salt and pepper, and cook it until the whole thing is cooked.  It only takes about 5 minutes, and you'll see: a whole bag of spinach makes like a handful of sauteed spinach!  Yummy!

GRILLED VEGGIES:

Lemon juice - 1/2 lemon (or whole lemon if it's not very juicy)

Salt, Pepper, Herb (like oregano or basil or thyme)

Olive oil - 3 or 4 tablespoon

Sliced veggies: zucchini, yellow squash, onion, bell peppers, green onions (whole), asparagus (whole)

In a large bowl, combine the lemon juice, salt, pepper, and herb.  Add the olive oil in a thin stream while mixing the lemon juice with a wire whip (also called a whisk).  Add the veggies which have been sliced about 1/4 inch thick.  Stir them around to coat them with the lemon juice mixture (also called mojo - that's a "j" that sounds like an "h").  You'll probably have to use your hands to do that!   :-)

Get your grill pan on medium heat, or you can cook them on the outdoor grill.  Put the veggies on the grill or grill pan and turn them over once in a while, cooking both sides until they get soft.

MASHED TURNIPS (super easy!):

3 turnips, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Water to boil them in

Butter - about 1 tablespoon

Salt - just a little bit

Put the turnip cubes in a pan and cover them with water; boil them until they are soft.  Drain the water out, and add a little butter and salt.  Puree the turnips using a stick (immersion, hand-held) blender.

Enjoy your veggies!!!!