Bagel Chips

Some food that is "bad" in your pantry/ fridge isn't actually unusable. This doesn't mean to drink chunky milk... that will make you sick. But take most bread products, for example, that have gone stale. If they don't have mold on them, rolls, bread slices, bagels, etc can fluff up a number of recipes. Or they can be the star of a snack, dish, or desert. I have posted before about my Bread Pudding, which requires you to use stale bread. Why? Because with the addition of a large amount of liquid, the bread needs to be stale to soak up the pudding's delicious custard. Or how about croutons? You don't want a soft crouton in your salad; it's got to be crispy. Stale bread is perfect for adding spices and making croutons.

Today's snack is inspired by... well leftovers. This past Sunday, the basketball team didn't eat all the bagels we provided them for breakfast, so I snagged them. And now, its time to make bagel chips!

6 bagels, any savory flavor
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tbs salt
2 tbs black pepper
1/4 tbs cayenne pepper
3 tbs garlic powder
2 tbs rosemary
Balsamic Vinegar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Start by cutting the bagels into rings, trying to get 10-15 slices per bagel, making them about 1/8 inch thick.

To the oil, add the spices, thoroughly mixing them together. Brush the bagel chips with a pastry brush on both sides with the oil/spice mixture. Make sure they all are coated on BOTH sides.

Drizzle them all with the balsamic vinegar. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown on one side. Flip chips over, and bake for 5 more minutes.

In a bowl ready to eat!

Make your favorite dip or eat them plain as a snack. For some dip ideas, I have a few you you can eat with some delicious homemade bagel chips.

I brought them to work simply with cream cheese on the side.