Melt-In-Your-Mouth Grilled Cheese #Recipe!

Hey Everyone!! :-)

Do you ever just want (or need) a quick meal that you can throw together in 10 minutes or less but will still warm you up and keep your tummy full? Well, I've found a grilled cheese sandwich is perfect for this, and this is one of my favorites. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 thick slices of bread per sandwich (I've found multigrain or whole wheat works well)
2 thick slices of tomato per sandwich
3 thick slices of mozzarella cheese per sandwich
1 clove garlic sliced per sandwich
6 whole basil leaves per sandwich
2 tbsp butter per sandwich
1/4 tsp olive oil per sandwich (basically a drizzle)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes per sandwich (optional)
Salt to taste (light amount)
Black pepper to taste (generous amount)

Butter both sides of each of the slices of bread with a quarter tablespoon of butter. Place the other tablespoon of butter in a skillet and melt it. Place one slice of bread in the melted butter and place one slice of mozzarella cheese on top. Add black pepper, don't be stingy. Drizzle with olive oil. Add half the slices of garlic and half the basil leaves on top. Add a slice of tomato and salt and pepper to taste. Add another slice of mozzarella and pepper it generously. Drizzle with olive oil. Add the rest of the garlic and basil and the pepper flakes (optional) and then the other slice of tomato. Salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with olive oil. Add the final slice of mozzarella and pepper generously. Add the final slice of bread and place a heavy, heatproof object (like another skillet or a foil-wrapped brick) on top. Cook for five minutes in the butter, or until bread is golden brown and cheese is melted, remove weights, and flip over. Cook for another five minutes or until bread is golden brown. Remove from heat, cut in half, and serve by itself or with a side of tomato soup.

Bon Appetit!

Lovestruck #Authors & #Bloggers #ValentinesDay #Giveaway! $100 #Cash #Grand #Prize! #Free To #Enter!

Hey Everyone!! :-)

There's a new giveaway for Valentine's Day!  Please take a moment to check out the Lovestruck Authors And Bloggers Valentine's Day Giveaway!!  There are lots of awesome books and prizes!! :-)  It's free to enter, there are over 30 prizes, and the grand prize is $100 cash payable through PayPal!! :-)  Now isn't that worth taking a few minutes to check out? ;-)   Here are all the details:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you so much for stopping by today!  And don't forget to check back tomorrow for the next installment of Mistral Dawn's Musings! :-)

#Animal #Rescuer's #Guide To #Staying ( #Relatively ) #Sane! #Free! :-)

Hey Everyone!! :-)

Just a reminder, for those who haven't checked it out yet, I've collected all my animal rescue/care posts together and published them as a small book.  If you'd like, you can download the book for free from Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, Kobo, and iTunes.

Amazon

Smashwords

iTunes

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Thanks for stopping in today, and don't forget to check back tomorrow for the next installment of Mistral Dawn's Musings! :-)

#APC #Spotlight: The #Dragon Dreamer J.S. Burke!

Hey Everyone!! :-)

I've got Jenny Burke in my APC spotlight, today! Jenny is an active and supportive member of the  Authors-Professional Co-op Facebook group and her young adult sci-fi/fantasy novel, The Dragon Dreamer, looks great! Here's the description:

The Dragon Dreamer is a fast-paced adventure with flying dragons, an undersea world, and an unlikely friendship. It's a science fantasy layered for readers age 9 to 99.

Arak is a misfit dragon called "Dreamer". Determined to prove himself he leaves on a dangerous quest, is caught in a fierce sea-storm, and crashes on ice. Wounded and alone he faces death. Then a fearless undersea shape-shifter named Scree heals him and an unlikely friendship begins. When an undersea volcano erupts it triggers a towering tsunami and a deadly chain of events. Can Arak use his unique talents to save the dragons?

If you think this sounds like something you might enjoy, go ahead and grab your copy here:

Thank you all so much for stopping by! Happy reading! :-)

#Agent Thoth's #Personal Log: Day 688

Hey Everyone! :-)

Agent Thoth discusses more of the trials and tribulations associated with living with hominids. Incidentally, if you've missed Agent Thoth's earlier entries, you can find them here: Thoth's Journal

Department for the Preservation and Confirmation of Intelligent Life (DPCIL)

Agent Thoth's Personal Log

Day Six-Hundred-Eighty-Eight:

Today, once again, a cardboard container appeared outside my domicile. After my hominid-servant brought it inside, I dissuaded her from contaminating the evidence through the simple expedient of sitting on the container until she lost interest. Every time she attempted to remove me from my perch, I hissed at her and threatened to deploy the C.L.A.W.S. Once she gave up her attempts to interfere with my research, I undertook to open the container so as to examine its contents.

The first step was to remove the cardboard covering. This proved a challenge, as I lack the opposable thumbs possessed by my hominid-servant, and I was obliged to strip off the covering in shreds and layers until its original structure was no longer perceivable. This did, however, result in successfully revealing the contents hidden within so that I could properly catalog them.

The contents were as follows: 4 books printed on pressed and sliced dead tree remains, 1 digitally recorded video stored on a plastic disc, and 1 scented wax cylinder with a centralized wick in a decorative glass container. Fortunately, the way by which I was forced to reveal these items did not disrupt their integrity, as I am certain my hominid-servant would not have responded favorably such a mistake. However, luck, as they say, is a fickle mistress, and so I will make a note to use more care when opening such packages in the future. As, naturally, it will be necessary to do, since a sample size of one is hardly useful.

As a side note, I do have to say that while my aggression display was successful in dissuading my hominid-servant from interfering in my research, I do feel a bit uneasy about threatening a creature who routinely lavishes a significant amount care and attention on my person. I will have to consider the matter and see if I can devise any equally effective methods that don't cause such a faithful servant to fear for her safety.

Aww! Those hominids can be so endearing ;-) You may have noticed that Agent Thoth has a new look. I hope you like his new picture as much as I do, but I'd love to hear your thoughts, either way. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments. ;-) Happy reading, everyone!

But What About...?

Hey Everyone!! :-)

Today, I want to talk about a phenomenon that I've recently heard called, "Whataboutism." Whataboutism is when you point out a problem or make an argument and someone else says, "What about.." and starts talking about something that might be tangentially related but is essentially off topic. Basically, it's what you used to do to justify your misbehavior as a child. If you had no real defense, you'd try to deflect attention by pointing out that someone else had done something wrong, too. As if that somehow nullified your own actions. As I'm sure your parents made clear to you at the time, another person's misbehavior in no way absolves you of your responsibility to behave properly. So, it wasn't a sound argument strategy then, and it isn't now, either.

One particular "Whataboutism" I'd like to address is the one that inevitably seems to come up when anyone points out how corrupt and, frankly, criminal Trump and his administration are. It seems the moment anyone mentions anything related to that topic, someone else will say, "But what about Hillary?!?"  Well, I'd like to take a moment and answer that question so that, hopefully, we can all get back to the more germane issue of dealing with the Monster in the White House.

Now, anyone who reads this blog knows I have no love for the Clintons. They're corrupt and they've pulled some seriously shady stunts in their pursuit of power. If someone wants to investigate Hillary Clinton and expose the details of her corruption and prosecute her for it, I have no problem with that. Crimes should be prosecuted. I'd especially be interested in seeing what a thorough investigation into the shenanigans that went on during the 2016 primaries would turn up.

That being said, neither Hillary nor Bill Clinton are currently President of the United States. While it would be fine to investigate them and prosecute them for any crimes they've committed, doing so is, in my estimation, a far lower priority than addressing the rampant and blatant corruption in the current administration.

Do I think that Trump is some kind of Manchurian candidate puppet controlled by Putin? Not really. At least, I've seen no convincing evidence of that. But do I think he and members of his immediate family have illicit financial dealings with Russian oligarchs and powerful elites in other foreign countries including China and Saudi Arabia? Abso-fucking-lutely. They haven't even tried to hide it.

And are these financial ties a concern? Of course they are. They make it extremely likely that Trump will put the interests of these foreign powers over American interests. Frankly, I think there are several instances where he has already done so.

So, if it comes down to a question of where the FBI and other law enforcement agencies should be focusing their resources, I think it makes the most sense to direct them at the greatest and most imminent threat. Namely, the swamp creatures who are currently doing their damnedest to dismantle our government and sell out our people.

Peace!

Something Worth Watching?

Hey Everyone!! :-)

I'm back today with another video I wanted to share.  As you may know, last week Trump gave his first, and hopefully last, State of the Union speech. It was, as one would expect, a complete train wreck. A horrific conglomeration of demagoguery, warmongering, racist and xenophobic dog-whistling, and flat-out lying. In other words, exactly what you would expect from Trump.

But, like Emma Vigeland in the video below, I don't think any of that is really worth talking about. We all know Trump is a monster; there's nothing new there. And, obviously, it's important that we continue to fight him and try to keep him from achieving any of his goals. But, in order to do that, we need to have a viable alternative to Trump. And, as their official response to the State of the Union once again demonstrated, the Democrats are failing in that objective. Miserably.

Joe Kennedy III was the Democrat the Party chose to deliver their official response. And he's just another neo-liberal corporatist, which proves that the Democratic Party leadership learned nothing from Hillary Clinton's humiliating defeat in 2016. Fortunately, Bernie Sanders also gave a response, and it was predictably full of substance and hope, and I would strongly suggest you watch it. In the meantime, the video below will give you some of the particulars on Congressman Kennedy's policy positions and donors. And, as I'm sure you won't be surprised to discover, how the two seem to be mysteriously linked.

So, please take a few minutes to watch. And remember what you learn here, because you can be sure that Kennedy won't be the last neo-liberal disaster the Democrats try to foist on the American public before 2020. And maybe the next one will be a better speaker with smoother delivery and lies, but we can't let them get away with it if we want to save this country from Trump and his minions. We need to learn to tell the gold from the fool's gold, and videos like this that lay out the facts are exactly how we do that. Peace!