Homemade Croutons

You’ll be making tossed salads for every meal, just so you can eat more of these delicious croutons. They go great in soups, or as stuffing, AND it’s a great way to make use of stale bread!

4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4-6 thick slices of bread (can be stale) cut into cubes
2 teaspoons of finel chopped fresh herbs (such as thyme, dill, oregano, etc)
salt to taste

Heat oil  in a large skillet, over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add cubed bread. Cook stirring often, until brown all over.  Add herbs cook 1 minute, then remove from heat. Sprinkle with salt.
When cool, store in covered container at room temperature for up to one week (if they last that long!)

Cream of Reuban Soup

I’ve never made CREAM OF REUBEN SOUP, but if I were to make it I would change the recipe quite a bit. I hesitate to give you my version, though, when I’ve never tried it. So I’ll give you both recipes. The basic recipe will be the one from the website, and I’ll give the changes I would make in italics next to it. Take your pick. I can hardly believe I’m saying this, since I basically believe you can never have too much cream or butter, but it sounds too rich for me. Some rye croutons (toast some rye bread, then cut it into 1/2” to 1” cubes) would be good on top of the soup.

CREAM OF REUBEN SOUP

(from biglove.lvhr.com, with my variation)

1/2 c beef stock (2 c broth from cooking corned beef instead of stocks)

1/2 c chicken stock

1/4 c coarsely chopped celery

1/4 c coarsely chopped onion

1/4 c chopped green pepper

2 c coarsely chopped cabbage

1 T cornstarch dissolved in 2 T cold water (skip)

1 c [1/4 lb] coarsely chopped corned beef (2 c)

1 c chopped Swiss cheese

3/4 c sauerkraut, drained and rinsed (or another cup of cabbage)

1/4 c [1/2 stick] butter

2 c half and half (1 c half and half)

Chopped fresh chives for garnish

Combine stock, celery, onion and green pepper (and cabbage if using) in large saucepan and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are crispy-tender (I’d cook them until the cabbage is soft but not over-cooked). Add dissolved cornstarch (if using) and continue cooking until the soup thickens. Remove from heat and stir in corned beef, cheese and sauerkraut, blending well. Melt butter in a large double boiler over medium heat. Stir in half and half. Add soup and blend until smooth. (I’d add the butter to the soup and run it all through a blender until smooth. Return it to the pot it was cooked in and add the cream.) Heat through, but do not boil. Garnish with chives.

By the way, an easier soup is to just combine some leftover corned beef with leftover vegetables in leftover cooking liquid from cooking the corned beef and vegetables. Add more veggies if the soup needs them. If you add raw veggies, cook them first in some of the cooking liquid so the leftover veggies don’t overcook. Reheat it all, then serve with rye croutons if you have them.