Zesty Garlic Croutons

Croutons are a "take it or leave it" type thing for me, so pretty much the only reason I made them was because I had a huge loaf of french bread I didn't want to throw away. Waste not, want not. I didn't want them drenched in butter (hence the lemon juice) but still wanted some sort of flavor; not just dry bread with herb sprinkles. They didn't turn out too badly, and I ended up snacking on them when they were fresh out of the oven. Be careful, though, because they burn easily. Half my batch got a wee bit toasty.

1 Large Loaf Very Very Dry French Bread
1/4 C Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 T  Italian Seasoning
2 tsp Parsley
2 tsp Granulated Garlic
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Salt
10 T Butter
3/4 C Lemon Juice

1. Slice loaf of bread into 1/2 inch thick slices. Cut each of those slices into small cubes and place in a large (4 L) bowl.

2. In a small bowl combine parmesan cheese, italian seasoning, parsley, garlic, pepper, and salt.

3. Microwave butter and lemon juice until butter is melted.

4. Slowly pour butter/lemon juice mix over bread cubes, mixing to make sure all cubes are coated. Then pour seasoning over saturated crumbs, again mixing until everything is coated.

5. Pour bread cubes onto two jellyroll pans. Sprinkle with extra garlic and salt, if needed. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Watch them carefully so they do not burn. If the croutons are still moist, lower the temperature to 200 and bake until they're dry.

Mahlzeit!
-Coriaunty