Organising Recipes
March 1st, 2010Well, it’s been nearly a year since I last sorted out my recipe folder so it was definitely time.
I currently have 3 folders – one for meals, soups, etc; one for cakes and deserts, and one for recipes to try. I usually also have a pile of new recipes recently printed or torn from a mag.Then a nice blue folder with my very fav. ones.
I decided to condense 3 folders into one with labels – soups & salads, main meals, main meals to try, cakes & deserts and cakes & deserts to try. I might try and get some more dividers and make a few more categories.
These fit in very nicely in the space beside my microwave. It’s funny I bought this folder not knowing what I planned to do with it (I just loved it) but look how perfect it goes in my kitchen.
Next up trying to get rid of a couple more recipe books…
I’ve also started using springpadit to flag any recipes I come across online. I can leave them there until I’m ready to try them, then print them out.
How do you keep track of and sort your recipes?
Wow you are organised Libby!
I often leave recipes in the magazine or on a print out until I try them and they become ‘keepers’. Once they fall into this category they are written up in ‘the book’ – a recipe book that my mum gave me not long after I was married.
I inherited all my Grandmother’s recipes and I was overjoyed to find that she also had a similar method – lots of loose pieces in a book of keepers.
My book is now quite messy. When I pull it out to reference something, I always think to myself that there is a little bit of each dish on the page – especially visible on the chocolate cake page that my boys have always helped me cook! lol But.. somehow it adds a little bit of life to it all. I wonder if I will have a grand daughter one day to appreciate it all.
Cheers,
Michelle
I am drooling over your organization!!!! I have one recipe book and it is a mess…..you may be inspiring me to get moving on that project!!!
I have as many folders as you and print out more as I find them. I have been thinking about organising them also but just haven’t done it yet. Your folder is great and matches in well with your kitchen.
You have inspired me to do mine later in the week
Libby, I have no system, so I might adopt yours. I have cookbooks, folders with recipes I love and recipes to try and lots and lots of magazine pages floating around. I tell you, its a real mess. But when I look in the cupboard at all the mess, it just seems too hard so I close the doors again. I might make that one of my resolutions this year. Love your folder by the microwave – perfect colour combining.
I have a folder on my macbook and I email myself recipes and store them in my folder and mark the ones I love. Then I have my macbook on the island as I cook. I used to save so many recipes etc but these days there really isn’t any point – you only have to look online for a recipe and it’s there so there is no need to keep recipes really! If I find a favourite recipe that REALLY works – then I save it to my macbook recipe folder. I have an iphone app for crockpot recipes and family dinners too which is useful.
I also had a shelf built into the end of the island in the kitchen last year and that holds all my recipe books.
I do plan on making a recipe book for each of the children though before they leave home. My oldest DS leaves for college next year and so next Winter I will work on his. I just plan to alter a composition book and write in family favourites – simple meals and favourite cookies and cakes so he can make them wherever he goes….all my kids like to cook so I think it will be good for them to have the recipes. Nothing fancy but usable!!