"The Alien's Christmas Gift": Just in Time for Holiday Reading

If you enjoyed "Bug Bites with Papa C," you'll be delighted to hear that Papa C now has a Kindle Book for your reading pleasure. It's called "The Alien's Christmas Gift," and if you've been searching for a heartwarming story for Christmas, this is it. What's more, it's only 99-cents. What a deal! 

Amazon Books

Retired schoolteacher Raymond Bednarik lost his enthusiasm for Christmas decades ago. Then, one Christmas Day, he aids a diminutive visitor from another dimension and has an accident. The accident is life changing, for Raymond soon finds himself in that other dimension, where an “alien” psychologist inadvertently rekindles his love of Christmas.

Amazon Books: "The Alien's Christmas Gift" 

#Christmas #Fantasy #Aliens 

Thanksgiving Menu Ideas: Rock Cornish Hens with Wild Rice

Rock Cornish Hens (recipes100.com, 2015)

If you're looking for an alternative to turkey for your Thanksgiving Day meal, then look no further. I tried this recipe last Thanksgiving, and it was a big hit with everyone, even the youngest grandchild, who was nine at the time, and you know what picky eaters little children can be.

As you'll notice, the recipe calls for two hens, which will feed four people, but if you intend to feed more than four, you will obviously need to adjust the recipe accordingly. Last Thanksgiving I prepared six hens, but the dish was such a big hit that there wasn't anything left over for post-Thanksgiving Day sandwiches, which needless to say was quite disappointing. Then again, the meal was a rousing success, so I guess I shouldn't complain. Trust me, though, when I prepare the dish again, I will use at least eight hens, maybe more. 

Recipe for Rock Cornish Hen with Mandarin-Orange Wild Rice 

Ingredients:

• 2 Rock Cornish hens, split
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening 
• 2 tablespoons herbal-blend seasoning 
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine 
• 1/4 cup minced onion 
• 1 6-ounce can sliced mushrooms 
• 1 5-ounce can water chestnuts, sliced 
• 1/2 cup white wine 
• 1 bouillon cube 
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

Ingredients for  Mandarin-Orange Rice:

• 1/2 pound butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup chopped celery 
• 1 cup mandarin oranges 
• 1 cup cooked wild rice

Preparation:

1. Mix shortening and herbal-blend seasoning. 
2. Brush hens with the mixture. 
3. Broil hens for 10 minutes on each side. 
4. Melt butter or margarine in saucepan, add onion, and simmer until tender (about 3 minutes) 
5. Drain mushrooms and chestnuts, reserving liquid. 
6. Add wine and water to drained liquid. 
7. Pour wine and water mixture into saucepan and bring to a boil. 
8. Stir in bouillon cube and cornstarch that has been mixed with 1/4 cup water. 
9. Cook until sauce is transparent. 
10. Add chestnuts and mushrooms. 
11. Place hens in skillet or large electric skillet. 
12. Pour sauce over hens. 
13. Simmer until tender and thoroughly cooked.

Mandarin-Orange Rice Preparation:

1. Melt butter or margarine in skillet. 
2. Add chopped celery and sauté. 
3. Add drained orange slices. 
4. Combine with cooked rice. 
5. Serve with hens. 

Image Source: Google Images, 2015, www.recipes100.com

Thanksgiving Menu Ideas: Deviled Eggs with Bacon and Chives

Deviled Eggs (nancycreative.com 2010)

There are many traditional dishes that most of us serve for that special meal on Thanksgiving Day, or perhaps “feast” is a better word, and one of those dishes is deviled eggs. There is, however, a big difference between plain old deviled eggs—think mashed egg yolks, mustard and/or mayonnaise, pickles, and perhaps a dash of paprika on top—and deviled eggs with a bit of pizzazz, which will  have everyone coming back for seconds or even thirds. The following recipe is just such a recipe and one of my favorites. It involves perhaps just a tad more work than plain deviled eggs, but trust me when I say that the extra effort is worth it, and then some.  

The recipe makes 24 deviled eggs, so if you need less or more, simply adjust ingredients accordingly. Moreover, you will need additional chopped chives, two additional bacon slices, and some paprika if you want to garnish each egg the way I do. Then again, you may prefer them ungarnished. Either way, it's your decision because it's your Thanksgiving Day meal .

Recipe for Bacon and Chive Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:

• 1 dozen large Grade-A eggs, hard-boiled and peeled 
•  ½ cup mayonnaise 
•  2 tsp. Dijon mustard 
•  1 Tbsp. fresh-squeezed lemon juice 
•  7 bacon slices, fully cooked 
•  2 Tbsps. fresh chives, chopped 
•  ¾ tsp. freshly ground pepper 
•  ¼ tsp. salt (If you are watching your sodium intake, use a salt-substitute)

Preparation:

1. Slice eggs lengthwise and remove yolks. 
2.  Set egg whites aside. 
3.  Place yolks, mayonnaise, mustard, and lemon juice in a food processor. 
4.  Process 30 seconds or until smooth, pausing to scrape sides as needed. 
5.  Cook bacon slices in microwave until crisp. (Yes, you can fry them if you prefer.)
6.  Crumble cooked bacon. 
7.  Add bacon, chives, pepper, and salt (or salt substitute) to yolk mixture. 
8.  Spoon mixture into a zip-top plastic freezer bag, but do not seal. 
9.  Snip one corner of bag to create a small hole. 
10.  Squeezing bag gently, disperse mixture into egg white halves. 
11. If desired, garnish with chopped chives, crumbled bacon, and a dash of paprika.

Note: If you don't have a zip-top freezer bag, simply spoon the mixture into the egg white halves. 

Photo: Google Images (2014) nancycreative.wordpress.com

Facebook Was Created by Aliens

From the Movie "Signs"

Every time I log into Facebook to see what my friends have been up to in my absence and to learn if they have posted any new photos of themselves--after editing those photos in Photo Shop to remove wrinkles, crow's feet, cellulite, and flash-reddened eyes--I am assailed by this question: "What's on your mind?" Heck, it's right there, staring me in the face, in the upper left-hand corner of the screen, so I can't possibly miss it---"What's on your mind?"

Why, I ask, does Facebook care what's on my mind? Moreover, are my thoughts really that important to Facebook? Then again, perhaps Facebook actually does want to know what's on my mind, as well as what's on your mind, and what's on the mind of each and every person on planet Earth. Because maybe--think about it now--Facebook is a clandestine organization run by extraterrestrials that are watching us from the Mother Ship, which is hovering out there someplace in the deep, dark reaches of space, and those ETs want to know exactly what we Earthlings are thinking.

They, of course, can "read" our minds (telepathy), since they are much more advanced than we and have that power, among others. However, they cannot read everyone's mind because some people--including yours truly--are on to them and, therefore, wear our tin-foil hats 24/7. And that is why the ETs had to resort to subterfuge.

See, they created Facebook (Mark Zuckerberg is an ET) and then enticed us to join by promising us the ability to connect with people all around the world, regardless of whether or not we actually know them, as well post pictures of ourselves looking better than we actually look in real life, and to share recipes, videos, cute animal photos, sayings, and the modern-day equivalent of the chain letter (Share this if you love me; share this or all your teeth will fall out, etc.). But--now think about it--they also included the little thingy at the top of the page that stares you in the face each time you log on to Facebook and asks, "What's on your mind?"

And, since ET's are much more intelligent than we, they "knew" that we would never pass up the opportunity to share what was on our minds. We humans, after all, love sharing our thoughts with other people, which is why we're always texting, tweeting, blogging, and Instagraming (new verb there), even if other people really don't care to have our thoughts shared with them and no one ever reads what we text, tweet, blog, or Instagram. The ET's, however, know our weakness is vanity, so they have found the perfect way into our minds---Facebook! Then again, if we all wore tin-foil hats when we visited our Facebook pages, perhaps we could put up some kind of collective magnetic force-field and prevent the ET's from even reading what was on our minds. How's that?

And there you have it, what's on my mind in the wee hours of the morning on November 10, 2015, and, yes, I've already shared my thoughts on Facebook.

#Facebook, #Signs