For a while now I have been attempting to waste as little as possible. That means eating more leftovers, using things up before they go bad, and finding new uses for food!
A few years ago, I would have thrown stale bread away. What a waste!
After years of buying bread crumbs in the baking aisle for recipes, I finally realized something that might simple to most of you.....but was an unknown to me! Stale bread makes the PERFECT bread crumbs. Plus, they freeze well and last a VERY long time!
Monday I bought some french bread for a casserole I made for MOPS. (~It was totally delicious and I didn't even get to eat any because my son was sick that morning, by the way!~) I SHOULD have used the rest of it for dinner on the following nights.....but, it got stale! So today, instead of tossing it, I replenished my supply of breadcrumbs for the freezer!
You will need:
A food processor or chopper
A knife and cutting board
Stale bread
Ziploc freezer bags
Permanent marker
1. Cut your bread into small cubes and put them in the chopper (mine cost $10 at Target and I use it more than I can tell you....I do wish it fit more, but I wasn;t willing to spend more money!)
2. Run chopper on high for 2 minutes until no lumps remain (Kids like helping with this part.....just beware of blades!)
3. Store in a freezer bag and label with a black permanent marker. Store in the freezer for future use!
*Another use for stale bread: croutons....more on that another time!
*To make seasoned bread crumbs, take amount desired out of the freezer and add salt, garlic and Italian seasoning
* My favorite bread crumbs are from leftover stale multi-grain bread......yumm!
Question: What is YOUR favorite way to use up leftover/stale bread??
this is such an awesome idea! I like how you taught us to make them seasoned...I would have never thought of that!
ReplyDeleteI'm still wanteing to start my own blog, but I fear I will be shadowing my sisters footsteps and don't want people to think i'm copying you :(
Michael says that maybe HE should start a video games reviews blog, lol
What a great idea! I knew about bread crumbs but didn't know you could freeze them. :) Love this!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea . . . I use my leftover stale bread to make french toast . . . I just make a huge batch and then freeze the french toast for quick breakfast.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea french toast could be frozen, Joanna! I will try that! That would be a quick and easy breakfast for the kids that I am sure they would love!
ReplyDeletewell this isn't exactly a bread crumbs thing, but I DO have another idea as well. Sometimes when I want a little something different, or I run out of bread crumbs, I invented theidea of adding stuffing. Like when I am cooking with beef, most of the time it's REALLY expensive. Using about 1/2 cup of stuffing, like dry stuffing that you get at thanksgiving time, and mixing it into the raw meat, makes the meat go WAAAAAY further and you get more for your money. you can't add TOO much though, becuase things like burgers can get too spongey
ReplyDeleteBecky, french toast and pancakes both freeze great! We've been doing that for years now when Gregg makes batches, he doubles or triples it if he has time to make the extras and puts them in a freezer bag. They come apart really easy and it takes less than a minute in the microwave to get hot, just like the kind you'd buy in a box from the store only much better of course. :)
ReplyDeleteWe do bread crumbs and stuffing with ours, too. I've learned to wrap bread pretty well in a plastic bag here or it dries out super fast. The mass-produced bread tends to mold before it goes stale, though.