Garlic Knots

We had some delightful friends over for pizza last week. I used Pioneer Woman's crust this time around, as opposed to my old standby. PW's was delicious, and probably my new go-to. I doubled the recipe, and got 4 crusts out of the dough. However, I guess I was a bit too generous (if there is such a thing) with the cheese, because I ran out after topping 3 pizzas. So I stuck the last of the dough in the freezer to use another day. Well, "another day" became the next day, when I thawed the dough out and made these garlic knots (so called because they are similar to the garlic knots we've had from a pizza place in my in-laws town) to serve with spaghetti.
They got rave reviews. They might just be an excuse for making extra pizza dough next time.

Garlic Knots

1 pizza crust (homemade or store bought)

1/2 stick butter, melted

garlic salt, to taste

cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400. Spray a standard sized muffin tin with cooking spray. Tear the pizza dough into pieces and place in the muffin tin, using 2-3 pieces in each cup. Top generously with melted butter, sprinkle with garlic salt to taste. Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Top with additional melted butter when they come out of the oven. 

Roasted Sausages and Vegetables

AKA- The night that Facebook saved dinner.

I bought some Italian sausage because it was on sale and I had a coupon which doubled. Cheap dinner is always a good idea. I usually use it to jazz up our standard cheese pizza, but I didn't want to walk back over to the opposite side of the grocery store to get mozzarella cheese. So last night, the sausage was staring me in the face, taunting my nearly empty fridge and cabinets. I turned to my friends on Facebook for inspiration. What we hit on was, in a word, success. An easy, delicious, success. You can basically throw whatever you have in here and it will probably taste pretty darn good.

Roasted Sausages and Vegetables

1 package Italian sausage links, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 russet potato, scrubbed but not peeled, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 large carrots, peeled, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
fresh rosemary or thyme, if you have any- I had rosemary

Preheat oven to 400. In a baking dish or on a large baking sheet, toss together the vegetables with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Place the sausage pieces on top, along with 3 sprigs of rosemary (I didn't even strip the leaves off the stems- just threw the whole thing in there!). Roast for 30 minutes, stirring everything about half way through the cooking time, until the sausage is cooked through, the veggies are softened and starting to caramelize beautifully.
Serve with Easy French Bread.

Homemade Dried Breadcrumbs

I've finally stopped eating the heels of the loaves of our bread.  I realized that "sacrificing" in this way was really pointless and I could partake of the regular bread for my morning toast.  But I always hesitated to throw them away.   Surely I'll make breadcrumbs...someday?  That hesitation became utter motivation one day when my "ingenious" boys tried to use the entire loaf of bread as a step stool in order to reach the peanut butter.  They succeeded in ruining an entire loaf of bread.  That loaf went into the freezer and, today, became dried breadcrumbs.  (And eventually, our chicken nuggets.)

Homemade Dried Breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 275.  

Start by tearing your bread (heels, inside pieces, whatever you have- crust and all!) into pieces and placing them into a food processor.  I only have a mini-chopper, so I have to do this in batches.  Pulse until you have fine crumbs.  Spread your breadcrumbs into a single layer onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.  

Bake breadcrumbs for 30-45 minutes, turning the crumbs every 10 minutes, until they are dried out and lightly golden.  Your time will vary depending on how much bread you use.  My 3/4 of a loaf of bread took a full 45 minutes, at which point I turned off the oven but left the pan of crumbs in there to finish drying out while I put kiddos down for naps.  

Place your breadcrumbs in a ziploc and bag and freeze it!  Pull them out whenever you need breadcrumbs for your favorite chicken nuggets or weeknight chicken dish.  

Homemade Croutons

Whenever my homemade bread sits on the counter long enough that it only appeals to me, I make croutons.  Whenever I buy a baguette or french bread and we don't eat it all in one sitting, I make croutons.  Whenever I have bread that is going south, I make croutons.  I can freeze the bread until I'm ready to make croutons as well.  They're perfect for salads (of course) and, as I showed you yesterday, my boys love them for snacks.
Stop throwing away your bread!  Make croutons!

Homemade Croutons

bread, cut into cubes
about 2 tbs olive oil, depending on how much bread you have
salt to taste
any other seasoning you want (use garlic powder, italian seasoning, etc.)

Preheat oven to 350.  On a cookie sheet, toss bread cubes with oil, season with salt.  Toss to evenly coat.  Bake for 15-20 mins, turning cubes/shaking the pan occasionally, until golden brown all over.  Let cool and enjoy!  Can be stored in a baggie at room temperature.
Play around with these- you could top them with grated parmesan cheese when they come out of the oven, you could make them sweet by coating them with cinnamon and sugar before you bake them.  Yum!