How do you organize all your recipes?!
How do you organize all your recipes?
I am in the process of trying to organize all my recipes. Do you have a favorite way of organizing yours? Thanks!
Answers:
I clip recipes and cooking hints from a lot of magazines. I use 3 ring binders and the cling pages like in photo albums (as opposed to the top loading pages). I have a different binder for each holiday, with the title of the holiday on the spine of the binder. I also put hints for decorating and party ideas in each binder. I have a 3 ring binder for diet recipes (separated by category--meats, veggies, desserts, etc.).
A woman said to me "Why not put them on the computer?" I told her "Well I don't want to print a recipe every time I use it, and I can take out the page I want to use, carry it to the kitchen, wipe it off when I'm done with it and put it back in the binder."
It certainly has changed for me since I know print so many off of the computer. I now get clear plastic sheets to put them in and keep them in a photo album type folder, separated into appetizer, main course, desserts, pies, cakes, etc...etc....my biggest is my Christmas cookie and candy book since I Make a TON of those during the season.
Prior to that I have a recipe box and still use it.
I have a very extensive collection of cookbooks and keep many magazines with recipes in them. I keep them on a couple of shelves in one of my hall closets.
I have all of mine in a big binder with plastic sleeves to protect them. It's so fun to look through the binder. And if my house ever caught on fire, I'd go grab that binder before I fled!
Well I start with which meal breakfast / lunck/ dinner / brunch/ snack/ dessert? is it to be?
then food groups Red meat chicken etc.. and finally alphabetical order... it works for me~
i don't normally keep recipes, i just get on line and look them up, and save them on a disk alphabetically. but the few i do have in a recipe box again alphabetically. or the easy way, i just call my mom and she looks em up in her cook books for me!
I have the file on my computer, and hope to print them out and put them in a binder that I purchased some day when I have time. The binder is a specific recipe binder, and has plastic sleeves for your recipes. I just have to find the time to print them out... I have so many. Then, I'll have to incorporate the ones I have from my mother and grandmother in recipe boxes lol.
I have my recipes on the computer all seperated by category: appetizers, beef, breads, cakes, chicken-turkey, cookies, desserts, dips-sauces-rubs, drinks, breakfast-eggs, fish, main dishes, pasta, pastry, pies, pork, potatoes-beans, rice, salads, salsa, sandwiches, seafood, soups, stuffing, and vegatables.
I hope this helps.
I use index cards and put them in a recipe box I use those little tabs that stick on, like for use in folders and I label them dinners,snacks,breads,rolls,ca... dishes,soups,gravy and sauces,meats,etc. and when i need a recipe it is easily found
First I divide the recipes into categories: appetizer, entree and desserts. Then I arrange each into ease then total time required.
If you mean organizing recipie books, put them on a shelf in alphabectical order. If you mean just written recipies, do the smae thing and put them in foldersor lamanate them and put holes in them and put them in a binder.
I have several binders organized by course and cuisine along with pictures and table of contents. I also keep files on my computer but they're not organized very well.
I arrange by breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, snacks. i then subdivide into appetizer, main course, etc. next, i sort them by what i consider the main ingredient (usually the meat if there is one). then, i alphabetize them.
I use MasterCook - a software program. I make a cookbook by each catagory, beef, chicken, pasta etc. - then I break each down into sub-catagories i.e. appetizers, salads, etc. You can save web pics & add your own recipes, as well. It comes with several recipes - and it will give you a nutritional breadkdown, and make a shopping list. You can find it on ebay - cheap.
This one is another program that's free to download:
http://www.homeplansoftware.com/recipe.h...
I start off by breaking them down according to which course they will be (appetiser, main course and side dish, desert, etc.). Then I break them further down into main ingredients. With the meats, I break them doen into fish, fowl, beef, lamb, and pork, and then further by cooking method. It is WAY too much work, but I started over twenty years ago and can't seem to stop now.
However, with a computer, it is possible just to search for them by ingredients.
I use folders and put them in plastic sleeves and use subject dividers headed, Meats, Poultry/Fish, Desserts, Baking, Sauces/Soups.
I also save them on disc just incase any get lost.
I have some in a binder with sheet protectors, some in the pocket of the binder, waiting to go in the sheet protectors, some in a 'cubby' I have next to my refrigerator, some on my computer under "recipes" and some that I just save and are floating around somewhere in Word because I don't know how to put them in the recipe folder! My husband usually gets tired of seeing all of my saved recipes, so he moves them for me. ;-)