Monday, January 12, 2009

Resourceful Recipes - Part 2, Bread Crumbs

I hate that the ends of bread go to waste, or maybe my kids take one bite of a roll or something. I keep a ziploc bag or an old bread bag in my freezer. Whenever there is a piece of bread that is not going to be eaten, I add it to the bag. You can cut off the eaten portion (& throw it away!) if you know your kids aren't sick or didn't touch the roll at all. When the bag starts to get full, I take the bread out and spread it on a cookie sheet. I bake it at a high temperature (oh maybe 425 degrees F) for about 3-5 minutes, just long enough to toast the bread. Watch it closely so it doesn't burn. Then I take the toasted bread out and turn it into bread crumbs with my food processor. After all is finished, I separate the crumbs into individual ziploc bags of about 1 cup or so each. They are then ready to go when I need them for something. I should probably add this to the other post, but it is handy to have this stale bread bag in the freezer if you are going to go feed the ducks at the local pond. I always feel guilty when my husband uses a perfectly good bag of bread!

Ideas for Using Up Bread Crumbs:
1) Stir into melted butter and use as toppings on casseroles.
2) Use as an extender for meat loafs and hamburger patties.
3) Soften with part of liquid and use as part of flour in pancakes.
4) Make Bread Crumb Cookies. (recipe below)

Recipe for Bread Crumb Cookies:
1 1/2 cups raisins
2 cups water
1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
4 cups flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
nuts, if desired

Boil raisins in water for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add shortening and sugar. Cool and add eggs and crumbs. Mix well, then add the rest of the ingredients. Drop onto greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

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