Bite Of Minnesota: Garlic Butter Croutons
Butter and garlic are such a classic pairing. When I think about garlic butter, I can't help but recall my family's time in Texas. When I was a kid, my family lived on South Padre Island down in the very south tip of Texas. My parents moved there for a job opportunity and we only stayed a year but it was an incredibly memorable year. We lived right on the beach, ran from sand dune to sand dune, had a baby sitter that only spoke Spanish, and took outdoor showers after playing in the ocean all day. What a life, right?
My dad ran the docks at Fisherman's Wharf and we had access to what seemed like an unlimited amount of shrimp. A typical dinner back in that day was shrimp cooked in garlic butter or dunked in garlic butter. No matter how it was served, there was always plenty of garlic butter.
After an amazing year of living on the ocean, we headed home to Minnesota and my mom got straight to work: selling recipes via mail. Before we all had smart phones and email addresses, people were selling recipes through the mail. All you had to do was send a dollar and a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) and she'd send you a recipe card. The most requested recipe? Garlic butter. Yep, garlic butter. I thought it was hilarious because it's not complicated. It's simply melted butter and garlic powder. But hey, it helped buy toothpaste and shampoo, so every request helped.
So, I feel a little like my mom sharing this recipe for garlic butter croutons because it isn't a complicated endeavor. However, it is incredibly tasty and a really great use of leftover bread so I do highly recommend adding this recipe to your repertoire. Here you go:
Garlic Butter Croutons
4-6 cups cubed bread (any kind works)
8 tbsp salted butter
2 tsp garlic salt (or garlic powder if you're watching sodium)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan, melt butter and whisk in garlic salt.
Evenly arrange bread cubes on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle garlic butter over bread cubes and toss gently to combine.
Bake for 10 minutes, toss and bake for another 5-10 minutes until lightly golden. Let cool and store in an airtight container until ready to use. I used mine on salad and as a garnish for tomato basil soup.
