Tips for Organizing Recipes

To find a recipe when I can't make up my mind what to fix, I do a find file with the word chicken, or cake, or the name of the vegetable, etc. I print the recipe on recycled paper each time I use it and don't have all the clutter of recipe cards.

I use a magnet to hold the recipe on the kitchen vent and it is just the right height for me to read it as I go. Do not do this unless you are in the kitchen and use a very strong magnet or the recipe could fall onto the stove and cause a fire.

I started by writing down each entree category, beef, poultry, pasta, etc... then under each category I list all the dishes I know my guys will eat and that I can fix from scratch. Under beef is listed tacos, sloppy joes, hamburgers, meatloaf, etc... I do the same for each category, then I designate a day of the week for each category. For instance, Monday is beef, so I take my calendar and start listing each item on each Monday until I run out of Mondays. I repeat this for each item until I've got a calendar FILLED with entrees to fix.

MO<This works for me for several reasons, I shop in bulk and shop the meat sales and stock up on ground beef, chicken breasts, etc... I always have staples on hand and I cook mostly from scratch. It keeps me from serving meatloaf every week without really realizing it... each person's lists/calendars will be different depending on what your recipe repertoire is, and you will have more entrees under some categories, but it works for me! I only plan the entrees and can just throw the sides together by visiting my well stocked pantry/freezer!

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All the old fashioned methods I had tried, like recipes boxes and 3-ring binders, always failed because I didn't get things put back into the proper place. With the computer, I just print out a copy on scratch paper and toss it after I'm through cooking. The original recipe is still in the computer, still alphabetized. If I can't remember which file to open, I can always us the FIND or SEARCH option to retrieve what I need by just one or two words.

Keep a separate brag book for special occasion recipes like the fabulous fruit salad you make for Christmas.

Try to keep your other cookbooks in or near the kitchen so that you are more likely to use them. To prevent food stains on the pages, open the cookbook to the recipe you're using and slip the entire cookbook into a freezer bag. If you like the recipe you can copy it into one of your brag books.

I take my brag book cookbook with me to the grocery to make sure I don't forget an ingredient. At times, I have also been relieved to have it in my purse when I get off work so that I can quickly decide on a dinner and pick up the ingredients on the way home.

By SusannL

I made two sets of dividers. One in front for new recipes that I have not tried and one in back for ones I tried and want to keep. If I don't' like a recipe, I pass it on or toss it.

Another thing I started to do was to cut out and save recipes from magazines and collect them in a "to share" binder and save them for graduation gifts, wedding gifts, etc.