Something light: Homemade Croutons for Soup or Salad

I found some fancy, pretty expensive multigrain uncut bread in my bread box yesterday. I bought it before the rush of the holiday season, with full intention of making garlic bread, but instead I completely forgot about it. It was hard, but I didn't want to waste it. You know what they say: when life gives you old bread, make croutons! Here's a very simple way to turn old (or not so old) bread into a yummy topping for your soup or salad.

HOMEMADE CROUTONS
bread (preferably a good French bread or sourdough or multigrain)
olive oil spray
Garlic Earth Italian Garlic Seasoning
grated Parmesan cheese
dried oregano (optional)
cayenne pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Season cookie sheet with olive oil spray and a few shakes of the Italian seasoning. Spread bread cubes into a single layer on cookie sheet. Spray cubes with olive oil spray. Shake some Italian seasoning, cheese, oregano and cayenne pepper onto bread cubes. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until lightly toasted.

These go very well with tomato soup or on top of a salad.

The croutons pic is from SimpleComfortFood. This picture looks very similar to my own croutons. The Italian seasoning is full of bits of garlic, sundried tomato, peppers, herbs and spices -- the croutons are full of flavor and flecks of color, naturally.