Hopefully Helpful Household Hints #1

I know we cannot be the only household guilty of letting bread sit in the bread box too long, so I've had to get creative over the years to salvage pre-moldy, yet stale bread.  My kids take their lunch to school almost daily, so I buy at least 2 loaves of bread a week.  When we get to the end of the week, I have anywhere from 4 to 6 pieces of bread remaining in a loaf.  I don't refrigerate my bread or it would probably last longer.  I just prefer fresh bread for their sandwiches.

Anyway, those 4 to 6 pieces of bread sit in the bag in the bread box over the weekend (unless we've eaten sandwiches) and by Monday morning, they're no good for the new school lunch week.  So, I've come up with some ideas I thought might be worth sharing.  If you have other ideas, please comment!

1. Toast (most obvious?)
2. Freeze to add to your holiday stuffing or dressing
3. Make peanut butter sandwiches as a special treat for your outside junkyard guard dog who never gets any attention unless you go out to feed him or get in the car (I know...it's sad, but I do talk to him and  love on him when I'm out there...he would just prefer to be indoors with the others)
4. Cheese toast - lay your bread on a baking sheet, top with Cheddar (or your favorite kind of melty cheese...Cheddar is my favorite); turn your oven on to broil then place the baking sheet in the oven until the cheese is melted and a tad bubbly; my mom likes to toast her bread in the toaster first, then lay it out on the baking sheet, add the cheese then place in the oven so both sides of the bread are toasty, but I prefer the soft side (your preference)
5. Sugar Toast - now this is a poor man's meal, but yum so good!!!  butter one side of your bread slices, sprinkle with a generous amount of white or brown sugar, lay the bread pieces on a baking sheet, turn on your oven to broil, place the baking sheet in the oven, remove when the sugar starts to brown (if you leave in too long, the sugar will burn)
6. Cinnamon/Sugar Toast - blend cinnamon with white or brown sugar to your taste then follow the directions for sugar toast above
7. Freeze the bread until the ducks return to the ponds in your area then thaw and make a day of feeding the ducks with the kids (or a romantic date with hubby or wifey)
8. Make homemade croutons using this recipe:  http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1743,151190-248199,00.html
9. Homemade bread crumbs - let the bread dry out on a baking sheet for a day then throw in your food processor to make bread crumbs (add seasonings for seasoned bread crumbs)
10. If you're a cook that likes to add a couple of slices of chopped bread to your meatloaf mixture, then use the stale stuff
11. Make homemade french onion soup using this recipe: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1648,128179-249195,00.html
12. Make bread pudding using this recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/the-best-bread-pudding-recipe/index.html
13. Grilled cheese sandwiches (I add ham or turkey lunchmeat to my grilled cheese sometimes); some people like to eat grilled cheese with tomato soup...I'm just not a big fan of tomato soup
14. French Toast
15. Make a yummy quiche using this recipe: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/cheese-onion-bread-souffle-10000001038756/index.html

I hope you're able to try some of these ideas!  And don't be afraid to try something new...the dog will also eat your mess ups!!!

Collette :)