Roasted Tomato and Onion Bread Salad

Have you ever come across a picture of some sort of food and said to yourself "I just have to have that"?  That is what happened to me with this bread salad. I was looking through the newspaper at the office and came across this recipe for a tomato, onion, and bread salad and knew at that moment I had to have it. I also knew I could improve the recipe a lot to fit my tastes. So, that is how this salad was created. I have to urge you to try this because I don't think you will be disappointed.

I loved it, but my family was on the fence. Ashlyn loved it while it was sitting on the counter and I was getting the other elements of dinner together. She kept coming up to me asking for more bread out of the bowl and I of course let her have some and it was met with Mmmms. Then comes dinner time and I put in on her plate and she won't even try it. This one I definitely did not push on her partly because I knew she had already had quite a few bites and also (I confess) because it was so good I wanted it for myself. Mark on the other hand wouldn't even try it. He now likes bread, tomatoes, and onions separately, but I think it may have been too much for him all mixed together in a salad. Oh, and I say now because he used to tell me that he hated tomatoes and onions, but now that we changed our diet all of a sudden he likes them and will actually admit to it. Getting him to admit that he likes something that he previously disliked is a challenge in and of itself.

So, all in all this did not go over great with the family, but to be honest I really did not care because that just meant more for me! I also had the leftovers the next day warmed up and they were still very good, the bread was not as crunchy, but it was still drool worthy.

Roasted Tomato and Onion Bread Salad

1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 medium onion sliced
2 Tbs olive oil
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 1/2 c cubed bread
3 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp fresh basil chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place tomatoes and onion slices on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 Tbs olive oil and add salt and pepper. Toss with your hands to coat the tomatoes and onions. Place the baking sheet in the oven for 14 minutes. Remove from the oven and dump the tomatoes and onions into a bowl. Add balsamic vinegar and toss to coat. In a separate bowl whisk together 3 Tbs olive oil, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, dried basil, and dried thyme. Add the cubed bread and toss to coat. Place bread on same baking sheet that the tomatoes and onions were on and place in the oven. Bake for 7 minutes then remove from oven and place the bread in the bowl with the tomatoes and onions. Combine the contents of the bowl and add the fresh basil. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
*If you have leftovers you can store them in the fridge and it is good warmed up the next day.
*I know it is summer, so if you don't want to turn on your oven you can easily grill the tomatoes, onion, and bread instead of roasting.