Recycled Bread Heels {Two Yummy Ways}

Do you eat them?  I don't, unless I am down to the last few pieces and not going shopping for a few more days.  Then, as a final act of desperation, I may turn the pieces to the inside of the sandwich, so as to avoid the crust texture.  It's ridiculous...I mean, between you and me, I still eat the entire crust of my sandwich or pizza or burger first, so I can save the best part for last.  And when I eat a brownie, I don't want a crusty edge--only a soft center piece for me, thankyouverymuch.

However, being the Scrooge that I am, I durst not throw those heels away, so I've been socking them away in  my freezer. Crusty heel by crusty heel, they've been adding up in the bread bag.  I've been itching to deep clean my freezer, so today I pulled out the bag and did a little food upcycling.

First off, I made soft bread crumbs.  This is super simple and quick.

Tear a couple heels in pieces and pulse in the blender until they are crumbs.  Repeat with a couple more heels until you have enough.

I throw this bag in the freezer, and use it for meatloaf and breading recipes.

The rest of the heels I used to make croutons--yet another simple recipe.  I actually baked these while I cooked our meatloaf, saving the (small!) expensive of running the oven.

Italian Herb and Cheese Croutons
Ingredients:
15 bread heels, cut into cubes
8 Tbsp. margarine or butter (or 1/2 cup oil)
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Place the bread crumbs in a large bowl.  In a small microwaveable bowl, melt the butter in the microwave, 30 seconds or so.  Add the Italian seasoning and garlic powder to the melted butter.  Pour the butter mixture over the croutons, tossing to coat.  Sprinkle the cheese over the croutons, stirring to distribute evenly.

These were so tasty, I couldn't stop eating them! They were the perfect topping for Caesar salad!  I threw the leftover croutons in a resealable plastic bag; they will keep for a couple weeks at least.

I'm linking up to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, and Made From Scratch Tuesday.