1/2 cup olive oil

2 large zucchini, diced

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 (12 ounce) package linguine pasta

1 cup whole milk

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

Warm olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini and garlic to hot oil, and season with salt and red pepper flakes. Cook, turning occasionally, until zucchini are well browned on all sides, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of generously salted water to boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and set aside.

Stir milk into zucchini, and simmer until it is reduced by about half, about 10 minutes. Add pasta to skillet, and stir well. Sprinkle parsley and 1/4 cup Parmesan over the top, and toss. Garnish with remaining Parmesan to serve

Free Cookbooks For Kindle: Linked List of Over 100 Free Classic Cook Books (Free Books on Kindle)

UPDATED AUGUST 1st 2011

There are over 100 free cookbooks included in this linked list for easy download and all of them are part of Amazon’s permanent collection. I didn’t include any new promotional cookbooks which are only free for a couple weeks before the publisher raises the price.

Some of these cookbooks date back to the 1600′s, but the majority were published during the 19th century. Some are manuals for professional cooks, others are beginners guides. Some are collections

List Price: $ 0.99

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Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (Better Homes & Gardens Plaid)

Product Description
The updated and revised 15th edition of America’s favorite cookbook. The Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book has been an American favorite since 1930, selling 40 million copies through fourteen editions. This new 15th Edition is the best yet, with hundreds of all-new recipes and a fresh, contemporary style. Plenty of new chapters have been added to meet the needs of today’s everyday cooks, including new chapters on breakfast and brunch, casseroles, and convenience

List Price: $ 21.99

Price: $ 11.59

 

Birthday:  February 14, 1992

Sports Team: Arsenal

Actor: Johnny Depp

Actress: Kate Winslet and Helena Bonham Carter

TV Show: Little Britain

Movie: Edward Scissorhands

Color: Blue

Food: Chinese and Italian

Book: ‘Catcher in the Rye’ by J. D. Salinger and ‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding

Freddie was born Alfred Thomas Highmore on February 14th, 1992 in London, England.

His first film was Women Walking Dirty in 1999, where he played Sam and since then has caught the acting bug. He has starred in 7 films and has more films to come.

Freddie’s breakthrough role was in 2004, in Finding Neverland with Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. Johnny was so impressed with Freddie’s acting ability, that Johnny personally recommended Freddie play Charlie Bucket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which made him into more of a star.

“I try to stay a normal boy as much as possible. I play soccer on the weekend with my friend. I play video games, but not as much as Mike Teavee [the video game addict in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory]. I quite enjoy soccer games.  I’m not sure what I would like to do when I’m older. I might want to travel and see the world. That would be quite fun.”

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Widescreen Edition)

Features include:

•MPAA Rating: PG•Format: DVD
•Runtime: 115 minutes
Mixed reviews and creepy comparisons to Michael Jackson notwithstanding, Tim Burton’s splendidly imaginative adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would almost surely meet with Roald Dahl’s approval. The celebrated author of darkly offbeat children’s books vehemently disapproved of 1971′s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (hence the change in title), so it’s only fi

List Price: $ 5.97

Price: $ 2.79

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High School Musical (Image via RottenTomatoes.com)

Director: Kenny Ortega

Rated: G

Run Time:  98 minutes

Age Recommendations:  Family and Kids

Main Characters:  Troy Bolton, Gabriella Montez, Ryan Evans, Sharpay Evans, Chad Danforth, Taylor McKessie

Plot:  Troy and Gabriella, two teens who are worlds apart (one is the schools basketball star, the other an academic genius) meet at a New Year’s Eve karaoke party where they discover their mutual love for music.  Music will draw them together in a way neither one of them expected.

Theme:  You don’t have to define who you are by just one thing.  Follow your passion and your true friends will always accept you for who you are.

Good Points:

• The music is great and it brings meaning to the storyline.
• The story line was clean and upbeat.
• Anyone who has attended High School can sympathize with the reality of clique’s and the need to “stick with the status quo.”
• The dancing and sequences were well choreographed and right in synch with the music.

Downfalls:

• During parts of the movie, the lip synching was a little obvious.
• The ending left people wanting more.  It seemed to end abruptly.

Buy/Rent/Skip:  Want a good family movie – buy this movie.  If you have kids – buy this movie.  The only group that might not like this are unmarried college students.

High School Musical (Encore Edition)

• Music video “I Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You”
• “We’re All in This Together”
• Behind the scenes Featurette

The Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical is a combination of backstage action and Grease without the unwholesome habits. Scoring record ratings at the time of its January 2006 broadcast, it’s a smash hit with tween audiences (ages 6 to 10), but appealing for all ages. At a New Year’s Eve party, Troy (Zac Efron of the WB’s Summerland) has a chance meeting with Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgens) when they share a karaoke song. Lo and behold, when school resumes, they discover that Gab

List Price: $ 14.99

Price: $ 5.39

High School Musical 2 (Extended Edition)

• It’s time to sing and dance because there’s so much more to celebrate in HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2: EXTENDED EDITION. Experience the movie in a whole new way with a never-before-seen music sequence and rehearsal footage, plus sing lead vocals with High School Karaoke. The East High Wildcats are gearing up for big fun as they land the coolest summer jobs imaginable. Troy (Zac Efron), Gabriella

What time is it? Time for High School Musical 2, the sequel to the Disney Channel smash that aired on Aug. 17, 2007 and became the most-watched basic-cable show ever. School is out, and Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) are looking forward to a summer to remember, but Troy also needs to make bank so he can go to college. As it turns out, Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale), the self-proclaimed primo girl of East High, has her eye set on primo-boy Troy, and gets him a job at the country clu

List Price: $ 19.99

Price: $ 3.95

High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Single-Disc Theatrical Version)

• Real digital music to plug and play on Disney Mix Max Plus, Mix Max Mp3 players, Mix Sticks, and Mix Micro players.
• Complete albums with full-length songs from Walt Disney Records. Mix Clips work with other WMA players with MMC/SC Card Slots.

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3:SENIOR YEAR – DVD MovieHigh School Musical 3: Senior Year is the third film in Disney’s record-smashing series, and the first to debut in theaters rather than on the Disney Channel, and while many of the elements are the same, the film is at times bigger to accommodate the big screen. All the usual characters are back, but not for long: it’s senior year, and the classmates are all facing the prospect of leaving East High in separate directions. Troy (Zac Efron) is ready to

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Image via Wikipedia

The Chronicles of Narnia:  The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (1950)

Author:  C.S. Lewis

Genre:  Fantasy

Point of View:  3^rd Person

Age Recommendations:  8 and up

Main Characters:  Pevensie Children (Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy), Aslan, The White Witch

Plot:  World War II has just begun and four children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, are evacuated from London in 1940 to escape the Blitz. They are sent to live with Professor Digory Kirke, who lives in a country house in the English countryside.  One rainy day shortly after the children arrive, they decide to play hide-and-seek. Lucy, the youngest of the children, hides in a wardrobe, but discovers that the door to it is a portal to a snow-covered forest with a gaslight post in the centre. There she meets a faun, who introduces himself as Tumnus and invites her home for tea. He tells her that the land is called Narnia and it is ruled by the ruthless White Witch, who ensures that it is always Winter but never Christmas.  Lucy returns, but her siblings don’t believe her “Narnia” story.  Several weeks pass, Lucy re-enters Narnia and Edmund follows but meets a White Queen who promises to make him a Prince if he brings his brother and sisters to her.  Lucy meets up with Edmund who is now alone and they head back through the wardrobe.  When they arrive back in England, Edmund lies to Peter and Susan, claiming that he and Lucy were just playing and that the wardrobe is no more than an ordinary one, leaving Lucy very upset.  Shortly thereafter, all four children hide in the wardrobe to avoid a tour group and find themselves in Narnia. Lucy guides them to Tumnus’s cave, only to discover that Tumnus has been captured. The children are sheltered by a pair of talking beavers named Mr. Beaver and Mrs. Beaver, who recount an ancient prophecy that when two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve fill the four thrones at Cair Paravel, the witch’s power will fail. The beavers tell of the true king of Narnia — a great lion called Aslan — who has been absent for many years, but is now “On the move again.”

Edmund, still in the thrall of the witch, runs off to the White Witch’s castle and the others do not notice his departure until it is too late to recall him. Realizing that they have been betrayed, the others set off to find Aslan. When Edmund reaches the White Witch, she treats him harshly and, taking him with her, sets off to catch the other children.

However, her power is failing and a thaw strands her sleigh. The other children reach Aslan, and a penitent Edmund is rescued just as the witch is about to kill him.  The witch demands that Edmund be returned to her, as an ancient law gives her possession of all traitors. Aslan, acknowledging the law, offers himself in Edmund’s place and the witch accepts.  Aslan is sacrificed by the witch on the stone table.  After the Witch leaves for battle, the stone table cracks and Aslan comes back to life.  Aslan explains due to the “Deeper magic” an innocent being cannot be sacrificed. During the final battle, the witch is defeated and killed by Aslan.  Afterward, the children become kings and queens of Narnia, and spend many years in Narnia, growing to maturity, before returning to their world unexpectedly, where they find themselves children again.

Theme:  Aslan was, is, and always shall be victorious.

Impressions:  The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the first of the seven Chronicles of Narnia by unequaled English author C.S. Lewis. These books are able to accomplish something that few other books in all of literature have been able to achieve. They are able to be at once great and entertaining literature as well as insightful and profound theology. Neither unnecessarily subtle nor offensively overbearing, the Christian allegory that Lewis unfolds is strong enough to be apparent to one accustomed to Christian narrative and imagery while not so blunt as to take away from the reading experience of one without such a frame of reference.  The story is captivating–the magical land of Narnia and its mysterious inhabitants are portrayed vividly by Lewis. The characters, both the main children and the Narnian creatures, are colorful and entertaining.  This is one that every person (whether young or old) should experience.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia, Book 1)

• ISBN13: 9780064471046
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

by C. S. Lewis. Paperback. Elementary Level Chapter Books

List Price: $ 6.99

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The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe

List Price: $ 1.99

Price: $ 1.99

Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Chapter Book Box Set

Lucy’s, Edmund’s, Susan’s and Peter’s Adventures Available Together in a Box Set!

List Price: $ 14.99

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Manufacturer:  Hasbro

Price:  $24.99

Difficult Rating:  Easy

Age Range:  2-8 years old

Favorite Features:

• Easy to play for children.
• Different ways to play, the kids can match the color of their net to the color of the butterflies they need to catch or whoever gets the most all together wins.
• Butterflies float out in spurts, so it leaves the player anticipating.
• The motor for the fan is quiet.
• Has few parts and the butterflies can be stored inside the elephant.

Inconvenient Features:

• Need more butterflies so the game lasts a little longer.
• Butterflies drop pretty fast once they are out of the nose.
• Refilling the butterflies took longer than they actual game.
• Taller players have an advantage over the shorter one.

Recommendations:  It was definitely a fun game.  If you have young children, this is definitely a must.  The younger children were “dying” with anticipation as they waited for the butterflies to come out of the nose.  Reloading the butterflies was a little awkward.    You have to snap off the top and load them in and screw it back on.  Other than that, it was a fun game if you have younger children.  Older children would get bored pretty quick.

Elefun

• It’s leapin’ laughin’ fun for everyone! You’ll catch more than butterflies in this energetic game
• Catch all the butterflies you can as Elefun blows them around with his trunk
• Giggles also spread like wildfire as kids scurry and scoop as many butterflies as they can
• With one deep breath, Elefun blows his 4-foot trunk straight up sending colorful butterflies into the air
• How many can you catch

The butterfly catching game for kids with an elephant full of fun!  Motorized elephant blows colorful butterflies into the air. Kids practice catching skills with handy butterfly net, or gather butterflies where they land. Adorable baby elephant is over 4 feet tall during play! Includes Motorized Elefun Body, 4-Foot Trunk, 4 Butterfly Nets, 30 Butterflies, Instructions in English and Spanish. Requires 4 C batteries (Not Included).     Recommended Ages: 3 years – 6

List Price: $ 24.99

Price: $ 17.74

Image via Wikipedia

INGREDIENTS

• 8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 8 slices cooked ham
• 4 slices Swiss cheese, cut into 1 inch pieces
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup cornflakes cereal crumbs
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Place each chicken breast half between sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet to about 1/8 inch thickness. Place a finger of cheese on each ham slice and sprinkle lightly with thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Roll up seasoned ham and cheese ‘jellyroll-style’, then roll each chicken breast with ham and cheese inside. Tuck in ends and fasten with toothpicks.
3. Place melted butter in a small bowl and place cereal crumbs in a shallow dish or bowl. Dip each chicken roll in butter or margarine, then roll in crumbs, turning to coat thoroughly. Place coated rolls in a lightly greased 9×13 inch baking dish.
4. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for about 40 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and juices run clear. Serve with cordon bleu sauce, if desired.
5. To Make Cordon Bleu Sauce: In a small saucepan mix together the soup, sour cream and lemon juice. Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, and serve hot over chicken rolls. Makes about 2 cups; 8 servings of 1/4 cup each.

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Emma Roberts (Image via RottenTomatoes.com)

Favorite Book:  Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

Favorite Actress:  Drew Barrymore and Rachel McAdams

Hobbies:  Scrapbooking, Painting, and Ceramics

Favorite School Subject:  law

Favorite Singers:  Michelle Branch, Kelly Clarkson

Favorite Sports:  Volleyball and Swimming

The daughter of Oscar-nominated actor Eric Roberts and the niece of toothy Oscar winner Julia Roberts, youthful actress Emma Roberts seemed almost destined by blood to go into the family business. Flashing the same familiar, wide smile as her famous aunt, Emma made her screen debut in the 2001 short “Big Love” (2001) starring Sam Rockwell and Mark McCormack. Her greatest claim to fame, however, came on the small screen for her role as junior high schooler Addie Singer in the popular children’s television series “Unfabulous” (Nickelodeon, 2004-) and for her leap to the big screen as the iconic teen detective, Nancy Drew, in the 2007 summer film of the same name.

She lives in Los Angeles with her family and when not on the set, attends the exclusive Archer School for Girls. Emma enjoys going to summer camp, swimming, reading, playing volleyball and spending time with her family, including her younger half-sister, Grace.

Director:  George Miller

Rated:  PG

Run Time:  108 Minutes

Age Recommendations:  8 and up due to some scary moments.

Main Characters:  Mumble, Gloria, Ramón, Norma Jean, and Memphis

Plot:  Mumble is born into a family of emperor penguins who insist on finding your “heart song.”  The only problem – Mumble can’t sing.  Becoming an outcast, Mumble travels across vast landscapes to discover why the fish have disappeared from his community and ends up discovering who he is and what he can do.

Theme:  Don’t be ashamed of who you are.  The people who care about you will love you no matter what.

Good Points:

• Music was excellent and complimented the story line.
• Themes teach a great lesson to children about just being who you are.
• It will make you want to get up and dance.
• The witty dialogue keeps the audience engaged.
• Animation was top notch and the style suited for any audience

Downfalls:

• Slow start-up introducing the characters and the plot.
• A few dark sequences that frighten younger children.
• The commentary breaks up the flow of the movie.

Buy/Rent/Skip:  Definitely don’t skip.  It is a cute movie with great underlying themes with animation that it is incredible.  If you are a fan of animated movies, buy this movie.  If you are just looking for a fun upbeat movie, rent it and enjoy.

Happy Feet (Full Screen Edition)

A young penguin named Mumbles cannot sing like the other penguins but can he can tap dance and he learns that being different can be good.
Genre: Feature Film Family
Rating: PG
Release Date: 4-SEP-2007
Media Type: DVD For anyone who thought the Oscar-winning documentary March of the Penguins was the most marvelous cinematic moment for these nomads of the south, you haven’t seen nothing yet. Happy Feet is an animated wonder about a penguin named Mumble who can’t sing, but can dance up

List Price: $ 14.96

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Cover of New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2)

New Moon (2006)

Author:  Stephenie Meyer

Genre:  Best-seller

Point of View:  1^st Person

Pages:  563 pages

Age Recommendations:  16 and up

Main Characters: Isabella Swan, Edward Cullen, Jacob Black

Plot:   During Bella’s 18^th birthday, she gets a paper cut and Edward’s brother Jasper smells the blood and tries to attack her.
Trying to protect Bella, Edward grows increasingly distant with Bella. Finally, he drops a bombshell — he is leaving Bella forever.  Edward leaves Bella utterly alone and despondent.

Bella drowns in her pain for months, resurfacing only when her father threatens to send her to see a psychologist or to live with her mother. Desperate not to forget Edward, Bella rekindles a friendship with Jacob Black, a large, hard-edged boy with a tendency to live life recklessly. Jacob lives on the area’s Indian reservation, whose inhabitants loathe the vampires for reasons that become increasingly clear as Bella’s friendship with Jacob deepens.

One day, Jacob suddenly stops calling or coming by.  Bella is hurt and confused.  Upon confronting him, Bella discovers that Jacob is a werewolf.  Jacob is worried that Bella won’t want to be friends anymore, but Bella insisted that they continue their friendship.  Bella continues to do reckless things in order to stay close to Edward.  One day, she chooses to jump of a cliff and nearly drowns.  Alice, Edward’s sister, sees in a vision Bella supposedly trying to kill herself and rushes to Forks.  When she arrives and realizes Bella is OK she receives a vision of Edward headed to the Volturi to ask them to kill him.  He figures if Bella is dead, he doesn’t want to exist.  Alice and Bella race to Italy to save him, where Bella and Edward realize that they can’t live without one another.

Theme:  True love overcomes everything and lasts forever.

Impressions:  Meyers does a superb job drawing contrast between the two love interests in Bella’s life. Hot vs. cold, dark vs. light, and puberty vs. maturity.  New Moon expands on the vampire story and draws new conflicts into Bella and Edward’s relationship. It maintains a brisk pace and near-genius balance of breathtaking romance and action.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Two-Disc Special Edition)

• Condition: New
• Format: DVD
• AC-3; Color; Dolby; DVD; NTSC; Special Edition; Subtitled; Widescreen

The romance between mortal bella swann and vampire edward cullen grows more intense as ancient secrets threaten to destroy them. When edward leaves in order to keep bella safe she tests fate in increasingly reckless ways in order to glimpse her love once more. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (summit) Release Date: 03/20/2010 Starring: Kristen Stewart Run time: 130 minutes Rating: Pg13New Moon, the second in Stephenie Meyer’s blockbuster teen-fiction saga adapted for film, is stronger than its predec

List Price: $ 32.99

Price: $ 6.47

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

List Price: $ 4.99

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INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sake
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
• 1 pound pork spareribs

DIRECTIONS

1. In a shallow glass dish, mix together the hoisin sauce, ketchup, honey, soy sauce, sake, rice vinegar, lemon juice, ginger, garlic and five-spice powder. Place the ribs in the dish, and turn to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or as long as overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Fill a broiler tray with enough water to cover the bottom. Place the grate or rack over the tray. Arrange the ribs on the grate.
3. Place the broiler rack in the center of the oven. Cook for 40 minutes, turning and brushing with the marinade every 10 minutes. Let the marinade cook on for the final 10 minutes to make a glaze. Finish under the broiler if desired. Discard any remaining marinade.

Crock Pot Cookbook: 440 Slow Cooker Recipes

I wanted a crock pot recipe book for my Kindle so I went to Amazon and found several books containing “470 Crock Pot Recipes”. It was pretty obvious that people found something on the internet for free and put it on Amazon to sell, but for only 99 cents I figured there wasn’t much to lose so I bought one.

Turned out to be totally useless. There was no table of contents and there were two or three blank pages between each recipe. That meant a lot of clicking on the Kindle just to see what

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