cornbread croutons

Ages ago I made a jalepeno cornbread to pair with a harvest turkey chili. It was beautiful and delicious but there was one problem. I had a gallon of chili, a 9" skillet of cornbread and only two diners. While the chili seemed to improve with each day, the cornbread did not. I was force to wrap half of the remaining bread in foil, then bag and freeze it. Then one day I decided to thaw out the old bread and make some interesting croutons! Here lie the delicious and colorful results.

My recipe yields around 2 cups of croutons.

Ingredients:
1/2 9" round cornbread
2 T olive oil
salt and pepper to taste.


Preheat your oven to 400°.

Cut your cornbread into cubes. I prefer to keep mine a little larger, otherwise they tend to crumble apart. Place the cornbread cubes on a baking sheet. Drizzle them with olive oil and salt and pepper lightly. Very gently toss the cubes in the oil and seasoning. I used my fingers to minimize any crumbling. 

Place the cubes in the oven and toast for 15-20 minutes, turning them several times to allow for even browning. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and sprinkle on a salad, chili or whatever you desire! Here's how I used mine.