Homemade Parmesan Garlic Croutons

Ingredients

• 6 - 10 slice(s) Publix Tuscan Roasted Garlic Loaf
• 1/4 cup(s) olive oil
• 2 tablespoon(s) fine grated parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1 teaspoon(s) black pepper

Preparation

1. I buy the awesome Tuscan Roasted Garlic Loaf from the Publix bakery for soup and sandwich night, and then use the remainder of the loaf in the next couple of days for homemade croutons, because it is fresh baked, and starts to mold quickly.
2. * Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. * Slice the bread into cubes. Whatever size you like, just try to make the size fairly consistent, so they all cook at the same speed.
4. * Put the bread cubes in a bowl, and drizzle with olive oil and toss the cubes with your hands. Drizzle more oil, and toss more. You won't necessarily use 1/4 cup of the oil (maybe more, maybe less) just makes sure all the cubes are tossed and coated.
5. * sprinkle the salt and pepper, toss. Repeat so all cubes have been salted and peppered.
6. * Sprinkle the parmesan cheese, toss, repeat. For this recipe, I use the packaged Kraft (or whatever brand) powdery parmesan cheese--I don't do fresh grated, and it works fine.
7. * Cover a cookie sheet with foil, and dump the bread cubes on and spread out.
8. * Set a timer for 20 minutes, but after 10 minutes, stir them around a bit. 5 minutes later, stir them around again. At 20 minutes when your timer goes off, check them. They should be getting golden brown and toasty, but still a little chewy in the middle. If they aren't crunchy enough for you, stir them around again and check every 5 minutes or so until they are cooked to your liking.
9. * I know these will keep in a zipper bag on the counter for at least a week, possibly longer (they are so yummy, they don't last that long at our house:-)
10. Note: The Tuscan Loaf from Publix has whole loaves of roasted garlic baked in, and is awesome for grilled cheese sandwiches too. If you don't have a Publix, I think a sourdough garlic bread would be great, with maybe some garlic powder or garlic salt sprinkled over.