Thrifty Thursday: How to Make Leftover Breadcrumbs (and stuffing mix)

  
What are leftover breadcrumbs?    Take all leftover bread items to make breadcrumbs. That is why there is such an obvious name...made from leftovers and nothing additional needed.  I use the bags from the loaves of store bought bread and zipper bags.  I just got rid of the last store bought bag since I haven't bought one in so long so I guess I am just using zipper bags.

 

How do I get breadcrumbs to use if I don't buy them?  I am not going around stealing breadcrumbs from friends and neighbors so you don't have to protect them when I am visiting.  This isn't one of those couponing "tricks" just old fashion thrifty behavior.  I save all the heals of the bread in the freezer and any slightly burned toast that my son won't eat.  I also save all the stale or unliked crackers, chips and other bread based items. Then, I use the food processor or blender to make them into crumbs.

How do you do it?  You just need to have dried or crispy bread or crackers to blend into crumbs.  I take the bags of bread and cut it into squares and dry out in the oven.  The cubes become dry and can also be saved to use for stuffing from scratch if you already have too many breadcrumbs.  When I get enough chips or crackers, I throw them in the blender (or food processor) to and make a fine powdered breadcrumb.  Some are different tastes like tortilla chips versus seasoned crackers so I store them in different containers to mix based on what I am breading.

How do you store them?  Save them in mason jars, tupperware containers, and sealed bags.  If you have a lot like me, use containers in the freezer.  I have one tupperware container that I put small bags of different kinds of crumbs in the cupboard.  It holds the crumbs until I have enough to pull out the blender.

What am I going to use them for?  They are great to bread chicken, meat and veggies when you are making dinner.  I always have some around to use instead of shake n bake or more expensive breading options.  If you want to make them a little more tasty, add seasonings like oregano and basil.  Before using, you can also add Parmesan cheese.  It makes for a tasty coating for all of your wonderful meals.  Here are a few below if you want to try them out:

Not So Fried Zucchini

Pan Fried Cube Steak

Leftover Chicken Tenders

(or Homemade Shake n Bake)

Why should I make breadcrumbs? I don't know if you have ever heard but breadcrumbs per pound cost more than meat.  When I read that, I knew that it made sense to cut that out of the budget by using leftovers to make the breadcrumbs.  You can use the costs that you were normally going to throw away to make something to save lots of money.  In addition, I think that they taste way better then the store bought ones!!  They stick better and you can make them the exact texture you want so you can have one container of fine texture and one with bigger texture for different meals.

I don't know if you buy breadcrumbs but I don't buy them anymore!  Do you???  Stop now!!