Archives for “leftovers”

Recycled Food–Croutons (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

January 11, 2010 · Filed Under Slightly Indulgent, Tempt My Tummy, Thanksgiving, What can I eat ..., bread, dairy free, easy, gluten free, leftovers, recipe, sugar free ·29 Comments 

This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, What can I eat that’s gluten free?, and Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays.

I hate to waste food, but sometimes I do … and then I feel badly. I’m thrilled food that I can’t use any other way (sharing with co-workers, relatives, etc.) can even be made into bird or squirrel food, but I’d rather not have any food that doesn’t get put to its best use.  If I can recycle food from its first run into something creative and delicious, I’m even more thrilled. 

When we were “stuffing’d out” after Thanksgiving, I still had a good amount of Surprise Stuffing left over. (Be sure to check out that recipe if you didn’t catch it the first time around.) Ever notice how leftover stuffing seems to congeal? I looked at that half pan of congealed stuffing and an idea suddenly occurred to me. Croutons. Why not dice the congealed stuffing and make croutons? So I did.

I removed the congealed mass from the baking pan and placed it on the cutting board. I scored the surface in each direction to create crouton-sized squares. I lightly greased a baking sheet, drizzled a bit of olive oil over the squares, sprinkled some garlic powder over the squares, and broiled them until golden brown (just a few minutes, stirring half way through). I was going to save the croutons for my salad the next day, but when Mr. GFE saw them, he immediately thought that we should use them to top the Crab Norfolk we were having for dinner. So we did. No food wasted, and, these croutons were fabulous. While I don’t think I’ll be making stuffing just to have croutons, I won’t mind making the tasty stuffing periodically knowing that I’ll have croutons a day or two later. How about stuffing and Caesar salad—WITH croutons for a change—in the same week?

To be honest, before this happy experiment, I hadn’t had croutons since before I went gluten free in June 2003. Our crouton-topped Crab Norfolk seemed pretty well deserved all things considered! Enjoy!

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe! 

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About Me

Shirley BradenGluten free since June 2003, I lead a celiac/gluten intolerance group in Virginia. My passion is educating folks on gluten issues and showing how eating gluten free can be easy if you focus on “real” foods versus processed and specialty foods.

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GFE's Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, but rather a volunteer sharing my experiences. Consult your physician for medical guidance. To the best of my knowledge, all ingredients/products that I use are gluten-free (even if I do not indicate that each and every time I mention them; e.g., if I refer to "soy sauce," it's a gluten-free soy sauce). However, I take no responsibility for the accuracy of that information. Always read labels and verify the gluten-free status of any ingredients/products to your own comfort level.

Not just gf, but gfe!