I'm popping in today with a quick tip that saves money, uses up your existing produce, is a healthy alternative and, in my opinion, tastes a lot better! I'm talking about making your own breadcrumbs that can be stored for up to 6 months in the freezer.

I keep all of our bread-crusts on a shelf in the freezer. I then wait until I have a fairly big collection so I can make breadcrumbs in one big batch, rather than doing it every time we get to the end of a bread loaf.

I used our bigger food processor today, but we also have a smaller KitchenAid Food Chopper which is ideal for when I'm not wanting to lug out the large one. 

The easy-peasy process:

1 | Lay a layer of frozen bread crusts on a plate and quickly zap it in the microwave for 20 seconds so it's easier to work with.

2 | Tear the bread slices into chunks, ready to be whizzed! I pulse it so that it is not too fine, but still nicely broken up.

3 | While the bread is whizzing, grab your freezer storage container. This one from Ikea is nice and big, holds a lot of breadcrumbs, and stacks easily on the freezer shelf.

4 | Fill your freezer container to the top with lovely tasty breadcrumbs! Too easy!

As you can see, my breadcrumbs are a bit chunky, which makes them a delicious addition as a crunchy topping scattered on top of pasta or fish bake, potato gratin or casseroles. We also use them in meatloaf, hamburgers, stuffed peppers, fish-cakes, stuffing for roasts or for crumbing different meats.

You could also throw in some parsley to whiz at the same time, which is delicious for crumbing, stuffing or bake toppings. The great thing about the breadcrumbs is they last in the freezer for up to 6 months. Plus you don't need to defrost them when you get them of the container, just spoon them out. Love it!

What do you do with your bread crusts? Do you hold onto them for re-using, eat them, or feed them to the birds? ;)