Herbed Croutons

I like simplicity. I happen to like simplicity almost as much as chocolate, bread and wine. And when it comes to cooking, I really like simplicity. (But for some reason, simplicity goes out the window on the weekends. As in, can I make things any more complicated and time-consuming?)

When I walked into the kitchen this afternoon several vine ripened tomatoes and a bag of Chicago hard rolls were staring back at me. I originally intended the tomatoes for fresh salsa. But this afternoon I decided to roast the tomatoes and make herbed croutons out of the rolls.

I diced up all 6 rolls into bite-sized pieces.


Then I added fresh thyme and fresh basil.


And after drizzling with a generous amount of olive oil (about a 1/4 cup total) I baked the croutons at 450 for 7 minutes.


As for the tomatoes, I suspect they'll meet a splash or two of balsamic vinegar before being poured over a layer of the herbed croutons. Yummy.