Garlic Thyme Croutons

I love buying freshly baked bread at the grocery store.  The only problem is that is goes stale waaaay too fast.  And one person can only eat so much bread in 3 days.  So I make croutons with the leftovers.  They are quick to make, and you can control the salt and ingredients.  Not to mention they taste worlds better than those hard-as-a-rock store bought croutons.

Homemade Garlic Thyme Croutons


Day old bread, about half a loaf
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried thyme
olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut the loaf into about 1 inch cubes.  You can make the cubes smaller if you like.  Spread on a baking sheet in a single layer.  Drizzle olive oil over cubes, just enough to coat.  Sprinkle garlic powder and thyme over cubes, then toss cubes with a rubber spatula to ensure even coating.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. 

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Thyme Roasted Carrots with Pecans and Goat Cheese

I'm guessing we all need a little vegetable in our lives. Here's a dish to give you just that. But reader beware - these are no ordinary vegetables. These carrots have been doused with love and flavor. Its really the only way to go if you want to eat your veggies and enjoy them too.

This recipe is a snap to make, and there's no measuring required. You can use as much or as little of each ingredient as you want. Here we go:

Thyme Roasted Carrots with Pecans and Goat Cheese

Carrots - chopped (I used baby carrots this time, but anything will work)
Olive oil
Salt
Dried thyme
Pecans - chopped
Goat cheese - crumbled

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange carrots in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over carrots just to coat. Sprinkle thyme and salt, and using a rubber spatula, toss carrots to ensure oil, salt, and thyme are evenly distributed.

Roast carrots until just fork tender. The roasting time will depend on how big your carrots are. For my baby carrots, it was about 30 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven. Add pecans to carrots and stir to combine. Return sheet to oven and bake for 7-8 minutes, or until pecans are toasted.

Crumble with goat cheese just before serving. Then enjoy!

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