Salad Party (a.k.a. Crouton Recipe)

My class has a garden plot at school, and our lettuce was overflowing! (please note that we have another teacher help us with the garden; see yesterday's post about my black thumb).

In an attempt to get the kids excited about eating nutritiously and to build their independence and self-agency, we held a Salad Party. We split into five groups of four students each and prepared a different part of the salad. One group harvested and washed the lettuce. Groups shredded carrots and cheese. Another group made salad dressing, and my group made homemade croutons.

Each student brought in something to contribute to the party: forks, shredders, carrots, cheese, bread, salad spinners, etc. One of the children even brought at toaster oven, so we could make croutons.

Here's the simplest (yet most delicious!) recipe we used:

1. Cut bread into 1-inch cubes and place in a giant zip-lock bag
2. Pour melted butter into the bag
3. Add garlic salt
   
4. Shake vigorously
5. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes
6. Enjoy!

They were seriously easy (after all, we made them in a classroom with 6-9 year-olds!), and they were scrumptious. I think it might have been the first time I ever made homemade croutons (pathetic, I know!). I will never go with store-bought again...