Almond Crossaints

 

If you visit a classic French Bakery, you'll likely see these behind a shiny glass: "Croissants aux Amandes" (aka Almond Croissants). I happen to have one such bakery near my work. All the time I pass by it, I drool when I lay my eyes on those croissants. What a treat it would be to have this with some hot latte!  These almond croissants were delicious and so easy to make.  I finally got a chance to make it over the weekend and we didn’t want to have lunch! It was very filling.

 

Here’s how I made it:

 

Almond Croissants

Ingredients

3 (one-day-old) medium/large croissants

3 Tbsp. sliced almonds

Powdered sugar for dusting

1 Tbsp. sugar

½ Cup water

¼ cup granulated sugar

½  cup almond flour

4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla essence

 

 

How to :

For syrup:

In a small saucepan, combine ½  cup water, 1 Tbsp. sugar and bring to a simmer for a minute and stir until the sugar dissolves then remove from heat and let cool to room temp.

 

For almond filling:

Mix cream cheese, almond meal, vanilla essence and granulated sugar with the hand mixer till everything is incorporated nicely.

Mixture should be icing consistency.

 

How to assemble:

Preheat the oven to 350° F .

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Slice each croissant horizontally like you would for a sandwich.

Work with each croissant one by one: brush it with the syrup, coating both sides and the ends well.

The croissant should be quite moist, but not soaking wet.

Arrange the croissants on a baking dish, cut side up.

Spread about 2 Tbsp. of almond filling on the bottom half of each croissant.

Place the top halves on and spread about 1 Tbsp. of almond filling over the top.

Sprinkle with sliced almonds.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the cream is golden.

Cool to room temperature or just warm on a wire rack.

Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

These are best served the same day they are made.

Enjoy!

 

 

Sausage Pepper Stir Fry

We, working moms know the dilemma of what to pack for lunch. Gone are the days when kids were happy and satiated with PB&J or cold cut sandwiches. They want something new, something exciting, something worth sharing with their friends at the lunch room table. My son is no longer in high school. still, I felt this urge when he was home for summer and working. Every single day of the week, he would call me after the lunch hour, telling me how his lunch was. Most of the times, I got an A+! This was one of those A+ lunches I made for him that he still remembers and requests to make it for him.

 

Here’s how I made it.

 

Sausage and Peppers Stir Fry

Ingredients

1 medium green pepper(you can add more colored peppers if you want)

2 Hot Italian Turkey sausage, casing removed and cut into chunks(for vegetarians, use Soy chunks)

1 medium potato, parboiled and cut into cubes

2 small zucchinis, sliced

2 tbsp oil

2-4 cloves crushed garlic

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp red pepper flakes

Salt

 

How to:

In a hot skillet on medium high heat, heat up the oil.

Add garlic, seasoning, red pepper flakes and saute for about 2 minutes.

Now add all the other ingredients with salt and stir fry on high heat.

Once the veggies are caramalized, remove from heat and serve with hot steamed rice or pasta.

This stir fry is good to eat on it’s own or make a wrap!

Enjoy!