Homemade Croutons & Elements of a Delicious Spinach Salad

These little gems were so yummy! I could eat the whole bowl-full alone, but they really did add an extra special element to my spinach salad.

Homemade Croutons

Ingredients:

1 loaf french bread a few days old* (I used a whole wheat)
3 T olive oil
3 T unsalted butter, melted
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 t salt
1 t pepper
1 t Italian seasoning (or any other blended seasoning you have)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut the bread into small cubes. Transfer cubed bread to a parchment lined baking sheet.

Drizzle the bread with the olive oil and butter and then sprinkle with garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.

Using your hands, gently toss the croutons and make sure they are coated with all the oils, butters and seasonings.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.

*NOTE: If you only have half or a quarter of a loaf left, then halve or quarter the

             recipe.

Source: What’s Gaby Cooking

Elements of a Delicious Spinach Salad

Baby spinach

Chopped tomatoes

Red onion

Grated cheese (such as Colby-jack or mozzarella)

Sliced mushrooms

Crumbled bacon

Sliced hard-boiled egg

Croutons

Poppy seed dressing