Homemade Skillet Croutons

I hope everyone's post Holiday adjustment back into regular life has been painless. I am hitting the ground running and flying to Las Vegas this afternoon to attend the International Consumer Electronics Show. Our company attends every year, and the show is a blast! I will try to share some details while I am there.

Quickly (before we talk croutons) I realized that I have shared any photos of our new puppy Hefe on the blog! We have had him for three weeks and Chris and I absolutely adore him. He is a German Shorthair Pointer, and will mature to be about fifty pounds. Right now he fits perfectly in my arms ~ I will continue to enjoy every minute he is small enough to be wrapped up in them!

More details and images on Hefe to come :) Now on to some crunchy croutons!

To make croutons, all you need is some bread, oil and seasoning.  What bread, oil and seasoning you choose will determine how your croutons taste...and it is hard to go wrong :)  My personal favorite day-old french bread, olive oil and Johnny's Garlic Spread and Seasoning.

Not only does making homemade croutons allow you to utilize the ends of the loaves of bread you weren’t going to eat anyway, but it also allows you to make delicious, fresh croutons to add to your salads, soups, or just eat as a snack.

Homemade Skillet Croutons

ü Day-old French bread (approximately ½ loaf)

ü Olive oil (approximately ¼ cup oil per ½ loaf)

ü Kosher salt, to taste

ü Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Optional: Parmesan cheese, dried herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary), garlic powder, or any other seasoning your heart desires

ü Using a bread knife, cut the bread into ½ inch by ½ inch cubes. If you prefer larger or smaller croutons, make your cuts accordingly--just be sure to make your cuts as similarly as possible to help them cook evenly. In a large bowl, toss bread cubes with enough olive oil to lightly coat. Add kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste and any seasonings you prefer. 

ü  Pour cubes into a skillet and cook on medium heat until bread is golden and very crunchy. Toss cubes continuously while cooking so that they brown evenly.

Homemade croutons, stored in a plastic container or a plastic bag, last about two weeks unrefrigerated.

Here is my favorite salad recipe to toss the croutons with:

3 cups chopped butter or romaine lettuce

½ cup white corn

½ cup garbaonzo beans or kidney beans

Large handful of baby or shredded carrot

Two tablespoons Marie's Chipotle Ranch dressing

Sprinkle of shredded parmesean

Handful of skillet croutons

Very Easy! I hope you enjoy <3

Sweet Potato Rounds With Herbed Ricotta, Walnuts And Cranberries

Happy New Year! I had hoped to update the blog with lots of fun Holiday posts over the last few weeks, but ran into some unexpected health issues…and spent much more time at the ER over the holiday than I wished! I am on the rebound (regaining my strength, energy, and appetite) so I wanted to share a tasty “first of 2015” recipe!

These cinnamon roasted sweet potato rounds with herbed ricotta, walnuts, cranberries, and honey make for a great appetizer, snack or side dish. Best of all, the recipe is really easy! Eat them with your hands, a fork & knife, or fold them in half and you have a swanky root vegetable taco!

What you will need:

Ingredients

1 large sweet potatoes, sliced in ¼-inch rounds

Olive oil

Ground cinnamon

Herbed Ricotta:

1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese

1-½ teaspoons Italian seasoning

1 tablespoon honey

¼ teaspoon sea salt

For Serving:

1 cup raw walnuts, roasted and chopped

¾ cup dried cranberries

honey

To get from A to B:

ü Add all of the ingredients for the herbed ricotta to a small bowl and stir well.

ü Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Add the sweet potato slices to a large mixing bowl and drizzle with olive oil.

ü Sprinkle sea salt and ground cinnamon over rounds. Rub the oil and seasoning on both sides of the sweet potato rounds. Arrange rounds on a large baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Flip the rounds, then bake for another 20 minutes, or until rounds are cooked through and crispy on the edges

ü Spread walnuts on a baking sheet. 10 minutes before the potato rounds are finished cooking, place the walnuts in the oven to roast.

ü Remove sweet potato rounds and walnuts from the oven. Place walnuts on a cutting board and chop.

ü Place oven on high broil setting. Place a dollop of ricotta on each sweet potato round and place in the oven for 2 minutes, just until ricotta is melty and warm.

ü Add chopped walnuts and dried cranberries to the rounds.

Drizzle with honey and enjoy!

Loungers

At the end of each day you can pretty much always find Chris and I cooking dinner in our pajamas. In the winter it seems like no matter what PJ's I am wearing, uggs are on my feet and a scarf is around my neck; even in the house I love feeling bundled up.

Our Christmas Day will be spent in PJ's...with lots of family time, movie marathons, gift exchanging and cooking! It is my favorite day of the year, and my excuse to start over with a new pair of PJ's :) I am counting down the days!

Wanted to share some of my favorite finds this season. Enjoy!

Bottoms: my three favs were all from Anthropologie. The patchwork Llama Loungers ~ going to be mine!!

Plaid Panel Loungers ~ $88.00 here

Sylvan Vignette Loungers ~ $49.50 here

Patchwork Llama Loungers ~ $49.50 here

Tops: My favorite Loungewear tops were all Wildfox Couture. Literally obsessed with these three WF Sweatshirts and they are all currently available at Nordstrom. Perfect for lounging, a Holiday sweater party, or with jeans and boots! I bought the ‘Gingerbread Man’ sweatshirt ~ it is so comfortable and soft!

Wildfox Snowflake' Baggy Beach Jumper Pullover ~ $98.00 here

Wildfox 'Gingerbread Man' Scented Pullover ~ $98.00 here

Wildfox 'Soldier Boy' Long Sleeve Sweatshirt ~ $98.00  here

These were my favorite "sales pick" sets from Victoria Secret. Love the matchy top and bottoms; plus they each come in several colors.

The Fireside Long Jane Pajama ~ Sale $39.50 here

The Pillow Talk Tank Pajama ~ Sale $39.50 here