Homemade Breadcrumbs

Since I stopped working full time after the first of the year to pursue what God is calling us to do with Grace's Kitchen, I have been looking for ways to save money on food. When I worked, I did all my shopping at Publix because it took less time. However I have recently discovered Aldi and appreciate how much money it saves us. Now a typical grocery-buying trip includes stops at Aldi, Publix, Target, and occasionally Costco; the best thing is that I have whittled down our grocery budget by $50—every little bit helps!

This recipe was born out of a desire to be as economical as possible, while still preparing fresh recipes for our family. I used the last of the panko breadcrumbs on Monday night's tilapia. To help the budget, I try to shop every two weeks and this is the beginning of that two-week period, so going to the store was out. As part of my menus for this period, I had planned to make oven-fried chicken tenders for a meat-and-two meal and then use the leftovers to top a main-dish salad. (Unfortunately, I should have checked to see how much panko I had.)

Instead of throwing out my menu plans, I decided to use my food processor to create breadcrumbs from four slices of sourdough bread. Then I spread the breadcrumbs on an ungreased baking sheet and baked them at 300° for 20 minutes. After they cooled completely, I put them into a glass canister. Not only was this easy and saved money, the breadcrumbs work great. Hooray for economy!