Oh crumbs! | Making breadcrumbs in the Thermomix

I always said I wasn't going to be one of those Mums who cut the crusts off her kids sandwiches, and remember as a little girl my Dad always getting annoyed that we 'wasted' the end bits of the loaf of bread. 

But here I am, 3 small children later and I find myself cutting the crusts off so that they eat more of the bread and don't just bite a hole out of the centre of their sandwhich! And worse still, throwing away the crusts at the end of the loaf...every time. 

Until....I fell in love with Thermy. Now Thermy is my conscience, and doesn't let me waste ANY kind of food, including the crusts. So I save them in the freezer and when I get at least 4 pieces of crust I whiz them up into my own homemade breadcrumbs.

Breadcrumbs:

4 slices of bread or crusts

20g olive oil

dried or fresh herbs of your choice

salt & pepper to taste

1. Break each slice of bread into quarters
2. Add oil, herbs and seasoning
3. Mix on speed 8 for 6-10 seconds (depending on the consistency you like, either fine or a bit chunky)
4. Taste to see if you want to add any more seasoning
5. Spoon into a snaplock bag, squeeze out all the air and store flat in your freezer ready for use

It's that simple. It takes less than a few minutes and when you have them ready made in your freezer you find lots of ways to add them to dishes for a bit of extra crunch!

Use them for chicken nuggets, schnitzels, arancini balls, on top of pasta bakes, add to soups/meatloaf/meatballs/sausage rolls, coat fish before frying, etc...you name it!

Store them in the fridge for 2 weeks, or up to 6 weeks in the freezer.

How many times a day do you use a Thermomix?

This was one of my lingering questions before I purchased my Thermomix...was I REEAALLLYY going to use it everyday or was it going to be a really expensive kitchen ornament? I am still surprised at how much I use my Thermomix and I know I haven't even scratched the surface of its usefulness yet.

Yesterday for example, I used it FIVE times to: 

• Make pizza dough in 3 minutes (to use for Cheesymite Scrolls) 
• Grate cheese for the scrolls (10 seconds)
• Made breadcrumbs with all my leftover crusts I keep in the freezer (20 seconds)
• Made meatloaf from the awesome Travelling with Thermomix cookbook 
• And finally made custard for dessert...my hubby's favourite! (secretly I think this is what sold him on us buying a Thermy!)

Meanwhile, my poor hotplate has been covered up with a large chopping board and has honestly been used 3 times in the past 4 months...so money well spent on the Thermomix, we think! It certainly gets a workout.