Keep Reading for Dulce De Leche and Chocolate Croissants!!!!
Today I’m going to write about the positive effect of THREE NEW THINGS. These words describe the opportunities a new MEtiree has to change their life as they embark on their new retirement journey. No more being mired in inertia. No more being stuck in routine. IT IS OVER!!! YOU ARE FREE!!
“Three new things” is one way to stay focused on getting past the bump that keeps holding you back. Get over the hump. Now untethered from working at a desk or in an office, nothing can or should hold us back or give us an excuse not to do what is positive to change our life for the better. So, while you can’t eat an elephant all at once, you just can eat the elephant one bite at a time (don’t take this too literally. I love elephants!).
So, what this means is if you want to start making positive changes in your life, you will probably have more success if you do so in small steps. Take for example, drinking water. I have never been a big water drinker even though I know how good it is for you. A day doesn’t go by that a fitness blog screams “DRINK MORE WATER”. So that was one of the things I began to focus on when I left my office. First thing, when I get up in the morning I think about drinking an entire bottle of water. I never would have remembered to do that when I was rushing out the door to work so that’s one new thing. Positive. Sustainable. I bought a Camelbak Water Bottle (ok–I admit it– I gnaw on the squishy rubber top while drinking) and I can carry it around with me. It’s pink. My new stylish accessory. Replaced my laptop bag which I don’t need to carry around every day to look professional. A first step. I tried this before when I was working but I either left it at home or at the office and after one day, my efforts to become a water drinker were done. So now I am back on track. Find a water bottle you like that doesn’t make the water taste like gack and stick with it.
But new things can be anything. As I’ve said, I have taken up yoga so that is another new thing for me. And it’s not just something I think about because I’m actually doing it. I even amaze myself that I am sticking to things that I have never done before.
And the third thing I’m doing is, of course, blogging. I use that word as a verb and it’s funny but, at my age, the word did not even exist 10 years ago. So not only am I actually engaging in an activity that is completely new to me, in fact, this activity was new to the entire world and there wasn’t even a name for it. So that is my third new thing. Very new.
For all of these years of working you have probably quickly dismissed ideas and suggestions based on the lack of time. NO MORE EXCUSES. As I have said before, IT’S ABOUT TIME. And you can choose to squander it and do nothing with it but sit around and watch TV all day, or you can DO SOMETHING NEW. I hate to think about the fact that life is finite. I hate to think about the fact that life is ALWAYS TOO SHORT. So put those thoughts aside and move along with your new life. Cherish the gift you have been given of time and MAKE POSITIVE CHANGES. You don’t just have to go to work and wish you had more time to do this or that. No more wishing. It’s time to DO, DO, DO.
Try it for yourself. Pick one or two or three new things that you have always wanted to do or should do or want to do. Then do them. Don’t think anymore about it. Move. Push yourself. And then stick with it. You will absolutely love yourself for it.
BONUS COOKING TIP:
This next part has nothing to do with anything. It’s just a fleeting thought that some might find helpful. Trending lately are soooooo many recipes for making dulce de leche with sweetened condensed milk. First of all let’s just admit that there are few things better in the world that just come out of a can that taste like this sweet, delicious, glossy, smooth, creamy, thick, gooey, sticky, Carnation Sweetened Condensed Milk.
When you find a dupe as great as this, everyone wants to try it. I have seen recipes where unopened cans are cooked on the stove in boiling water for hours, in the oven and in a crock pot. However, in the back of my mind, I am always worried about the can exploding under the pressure of being submerged in boiling water. Simple fix that grew out of my totally neurotic approach to cooking where explosion or fire could be a risk. Don’t even ask me how many times I drive back home to turn off a hair straightener or unplug the toaster oven or coffee maker. EASY SOLUTION to avoid exploding cans.
Gently and carefully pop the top of the can of condensed milk. When I say gently, I mean GENTLY. You only want to pop it up, not pull it. The can should remain 99% closed with just a little opening. Fold a small piece of aluminum foil in two and place the doubled foil over the top of the can so it comes one third of the way down the can. Crunch the foil tightly around the top of the can and put in a heavy pot (I am a fan of LeCrueset pots ), put the pot and the can on the bottom shelf of a 300 degree oven, fill it up to the bottom of the foil with boiling water (much easier to do this in the oven instead of trying to lift the full pan of water), put the lid on the pot and go away for 4 hours.
I usually check the water level after two hours but with the top on the pot, this is usually not a problem since very little evaporates. Since this process takes such a long time (but actually requires virtually no work at all), I usually make three cans at once and store the dulce de leche in the refrigerator where it seems to keep for a least two weeks if everyone doesn’t eat it first.
So, you ask, what do I do with the dulce de leche other than put it on everything under the sun? I like to put it in the middle of a coffee cake before I bake it, in the middle of banana bread, spread it on toast, spread it on anything at all………….
One easy thing to do that is just so DELICIOUS is to make croissants with chocolate and dulce de leche. You can throw these together in a jiffy and make all of your friends and family think that you are a French PASTRY CHEF. By the way, blogging is not as easy as the great bloggers make it look.
For all of you accustomed to seeing the creative talent, especially the photography, on Pinch of Yum (I mean Lindsay actually WROTE THE BEST BOOK ON FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY), Smitten Kitchen, How Sweet it Is, Sally’s Baking Addiction, etc etc etc (just to name a few), please do not expect any such accomplished artistry on this blog YET. I am doing the best I can but I am a total novice.
So my photos of the croissants actually seem to glow from within (they look radioactive but trust me, they are not), they turn a funny shade of yellow and orange, and generally look like a six year old took them. So be patient please. I will get better I hope as I read everything I can get my hands on. In the meantime, I hope you will enjoy this (relatively) easy and quick recipe.
Neat little packages of deliciousness
Easy Dulce de Leche and Chocolate Croissants
Do not be deterred by the word "croissant". Fear not, these are made with purchased puff pastry and come together faster than you can say "breakfast". Please note that you should refrigerate the dulce de leche for at least 24 hours before making these.
Ingredients
- 1 box Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry sheets
- 1/2 cup dulce de leche ice cold see above for recipe
- 1 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks preferably Sharffen Berger
- 1 egg beaten with 1 T. water for a wash
- 2 T. sugar for sprinkling over the top of each croissant
- Flour for dusting the board and rolling pin
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
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Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or you can use a Silpat. Divide the chocolate chips into 16 piles on your counter. You will use one pile for each croissant.
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Put a little flour on a wooden cutting board or on a floured counter. Roll one sheet of pastry gently with a floured rolling pin. Do not press the dough down. The pastry sheet should look square about 10 inches on each side. Keep the other pastry sheet refrigerated and covered.
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Cut the pastry into 8 pieces by first cutting it into four squares and then cutting each square in half diagonally until you have 8 triangles. You will make the remaining 8 croissants while the first ones are baking so the dough will stay cold.
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Spread about 1/2 T. of very cold dulce de leche all each triangle and sprinkle with one of the piles of chocolate chips, stopping two inches before you get to the top and bottom edge of the triangle. Begin rolling each croissant very lightly into a roll starting at the wide end. You want to have a very light touch when you do this as you don't want to press the pastry down and you don't want too tight a roll. Gently pinch the sides closed.
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When all 8 croissants are done, put them on the lined cookie sheet and put them in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes and up to a half hour, covered with plastic wrap. Remove them and brush them lightly with the egg wash and sprinkle each one with a little bit of sugar.
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Bake for 10 minutes. By this time some of the dulce de leche will have leaked out from the croissants to remove them from the oven and with a knife (I used a butter knife) scrape the dulce de leche back around the pastry like a little cozy cocoon. It will be thick and gooey and form a really nice glaze around each pastry. Bake for another 10 minutes. Watch carefully so the tops do not burn. Remove from the oven and let the croissants sit for 10 minutes to allow the filling to set. While the first batch is in the oven, repeat the process with the second pastry sheet. Serve warm or reheat in a preheated 400 degree oven for 5 minutes to puff them up a bit.