Homemade Croutons

OutBack again!! As with the cheese fries, Dewayne and I love Outback salads. They are just the best salads ever. We use the same dressing we use for the cheese fries, but I add an extra 1/4 cup of milk. In hopes to mimic OutBack salads, I searched for a crouton recipe and this (with a few alterations) is what I came up with. The croutons were great and even better stored and served on salads a couple of days later. Dewayne said the salads were just as good as Outback, I thought they were great, but I guess I am partial to Outback. Maybe it is just the idea of getting to actually sit down and eat at restaurant, considering that is a rare occasion for us.

Ingredients:
*1 loaf bread
*1/2 lb. butter (2 sticks)
*1 1/4 T. cajun seasoning
*1/4 c. finely chopped garlic (I used minced garlic)

Directions:
*Cut bread into bite sized pieces... melt butter until it looks like mayonnaise. DO NOT MELT TO A LIQUID, CROUTONS WILL NOT TURN OUT!!!
*Add garlic and seasoning to butter and blend well and set aside.
*Put bread on a cookie sheet and toast in a 350 degrees oven until golden brown and starting to get crunchy.
*Remove from oven and be sure to let cool completely.
*Place butter mixture into a large bowl and coat bread cubes gently. (I used my hands to make sure bread cubes were coated evenly).
*Place croutons back on baking sheet and bake 15 to 20 minutes on 350 degrees. After the baking time I had to put my oven on low broil and let the croutons brown. BE SURE TO KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THEM, THEY WILL BURN!! THROUGHOUT BAKING TAKE THE CROUTONS OUT AND TOSS AROUND TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE PRETTY MUCH EVENLY BAKED!!
*Store extras in an airtight container.

Bread cubes after the first toasting.

Butter mixture.

Bread cubes evenly coated with the butter mixture.

Looking all yummy and golden brown on a salad.

Ready to eat.

Wait a minute, I have to have lots of that spicy dressing, now it is ready to eat.