Waste Not, Want Not!

In other blog posts I have talked about the older generation's mentality that when you waste not, you want not.  My Grandparents went through the Great Depression. They had to wash and save foil. They didn't have Ziploc bags to throw away after just one use. Even now my Grandfather saves things that we think he should just toss in the trash like empty pill bottles or paper that still has one side clean. So with that mindset I have been trying to find ways to use food and supplies that we normally throw away and try to stretch my grocery budget even further.

Today's post is specifically about saving and using those ends to your sandwich bread which most of us just throw away. Most members of my family prefer not to use the ends of the bread. I don't care either way and when making a sandwich I will use the ends. However, I rarely eat sandwiches so the ends tend to sit there until they are pretty stale. 

A few years ago I began saving the ends of the bread. Usually I just toss them, bread bag and all into the freezer and then when I have an hour or so to spare, I pull them out and let them thaw. Once thawed mostly, I cut them up into cubes. You can also use old hamburger or hot dog buns or french bread. I have even re-purposed old hamburger buns into garlic bread on spaghetti night and then still used the left overs in my bread crumbs. I never use bread that has already started to mold or soggy bread.

I spray my pan down with a nonstick spray and then spray the top layer of bread cubes down as well. Then I season them. Sometimes I use only garlic powder and sometimes I sprinkle garlic, onion powder, and Italian seasonings on them.

 

Then I use the low broiler setting on my oven and I toast the bread to a pretty golden brown. I usually toss them twice followed by more toasting each time to make sure they are completely dried out. This usually takes about 5 minutes between tossing. The next step is to put these toasted pieces in the food processor. Of course you could hand crush them or even put them in a zip lock bag and use a mallet to crumb them.  I have also stored them whole and used them as croutons.  

 

 

Lastly I packaged them using my Food Saver and labeled the date and the flavor. They should be good in storage for at least a few months.  I also have a bag in my freezer for longer storage.

 

Free bread crumbs using bread ends that usually just get thrown away. I have used them to bread chicken, make a breakfast casserole, and even to top my broccoli rice casserole. Waste Not, Want Not, right?