Patriotic Porridge: What to do With Bread Heels

What to do With Bread Heels

During a normal week, I can go through two to three loafs bread. My husband and I don't care to eat the heel pieces on sandwiches or as toast, and for the longest time I would throw them away or force us to eat them.

With bread prices on the rise, I had to figure out a way to use them ALL.

My mom has been making a dish for years that requires coarse bread crumbs, it is also one of my favorite recipes. I started storing all unwanted bread in a Ziplock bag and then preparing this recipe about once a week. There are many ways to use up those bread heels, I would love to hear your ideas and hope mine help you stretch that dollar a bit farther.

Chicken Arugula

Dressing

3T olive oil

1 T balsamic Vinegar

1 t Dijon Mustard

1 large garlic clove, minced

¼ t blck pepper

¼ t salt

Prepare dressing and mix or shake in a bowl

Salad

½ of a large red onion

1 large tomato diced

8 C arugula leaves (or a bag of spring salad mix)

Also

½ C Flour

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 T olive Oil

In a large bowl, combine red onion and tomato. Pour dressing over and place arugula on top. Don’t mix, cover with plastic wrap and chill. ( I just keep the dressing separate that way the left over salad won’t spoil.)

Heat Olive Oil in pan. Place flour in a pie plate, eggs in another plate, and crumbs in a third plate. Rinse off chicken and dip in flour, then egg and then crumbs. Coat well. Place into hot oil in pan. Cook until chick is no longer pink. Be careful not to burn the crumbs. Add more oil as necessary. (The crumbs are difficult to get to stick to the chicken so I add extra croutons to the pan. I like the croutons to be really crispy and it’s pretty hard to keep them that looking golden. I also use alot more oil the called for )

Put chicken on a plate, toss arugula and put it over chicken.

my Ziplock bag of bread