How do you store your recipes?

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Thank you bucky, I am glad there is someone else here who is as disorganized as we are.

We store what we can on the computer, but really have no time to organize the hard copies of the many recipes we have not transferred to the computer.

They go in THE BOX.

We try not to open THE BOX.

Everytime we think about organizing THE BOX, we find something better to do.

It is really not all that hard to do: there is always a trip to the dump that needs to be made, or chicken that needs to be quartered, or a sunset that needs to be watched, or a TV show that absolutely cannot be missed.

And we haven't spoken to Uncle Ed in ever so long, and whatever happened to that roomie I had in college?

And I really have not looked at the horses that will be running in the Kentucky Derby (not that we are anywhere where we can make a bet), and the knives do need sharpening again.

Basically will never have the recipes organized, no matter how much time we have.

Have always admired folks who can organize their stuff, but am afraid it is never going to happen to us.

As far as memory sticks go, we own a couple and they are the greatest.

Just gotta keep them out of THE BOX.

A place where they could hide forever.

LOL

Edited for grammar, I hate when I have to do that.
 
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What program does everyone use on the computer for their recipes? I was just making tables in Word for the ingredients and then writing instructions below. Does anyone use a database, or a cookbook program? I hesitate to use a program since they can come and go, and something like Word or Excel is probably going to stick around awhile.

BC
 
I use WORD but don't bother with a table. I list the ingredients in two columns. then the instructions below in one column.
 
Some I keep in a folder, some here on the computer in a folder and others in a few recipe boxes. Funny you should ask this though. Today I went and bought index cards. I'm planning to write and rewrite the ones that aren't in my cookbooks and then put them in one of those photo albums that has pockets.
 
Thanks everyone, for all your suggestions! We have that hard drive AllenMI suggested (just asked DH, because I have no idea what it means) with a weekly backup so we don't lose anything again. I guess I need to take the plunge and sift through all the junk I don't use, and incorporate everything I do from my computer file. Then stay on top of it!

Thanks friends, for all the good ideas!
 
Word Of advice for the sticky page photo album people- Don't use them-- I had them at one time and eventually the sticky sticks to hard to the recipe and it ruin it and somtimes hard to read. Lost alot of good recipe using this, thankful family members had them.
I use 3 ring binder and then my most used ones are in a separte binder. I amd a recipe addict, i will fine one that sounds good and will print it out or tear it out of a magazine and put into a wicker backet I have in my kitchen. then on a day i feel like something new I go threw the basket. If isn't good throw it away or if it is a keeper i then put it in my binder. I am down from about 50 cookbooks to 5 - Only 2 of us home now and gave cookbooks to daughter, charity auctions and other family members. I am a sucker for the cookbooks that churches, schools and fund raisers put together.
 
I don't tend to have recipes, that's the first problem. (Unless "some of this, a bit of that, etc." counts as a recipe)

Then there's the problem that I usually don't right it down, I just let it keep bouncing around with all the other loose marbles up in my head.

Then of course, there are the recipes I do have, usually on pieces of paper and such. Those are all stacked in a pile somewhere, rendering them almost unuseable... :wacko:

And those are just recipes for FOOD! The recipes for my beers, hopeless!

John
 
letscook said:
Word Of advice for the sticky page photo album people- Don't use them-- I had them at one time and eventually the sticky sticks to hard to the recipe and it ruin it and somtimes hard to read. Lost alot of good recipe using this
In my 3 ring binder I use plastic sleeves. You can get them at any office store. I put two recipes in each sleeve, back to back and they already have holes punched in them for the 3 ring binder.
 
ronjohn55 said:
I don't tend to have recipes, that's the first problem. (Unless "some of this, a bit of that, etc." counts as a recipe)

Then there's the problem that I usually don't right it down, I just let it keep bouncing around with all the other loose marbles up in my head.

Then of course, there are the recipes I do have, usually on pieces of paper and such. Those are all stacked in a pile somewhere, rendering them almost unuseable... :wacko:

Sadly it's the same here.:(
 
I use several systems:

On the computer I use Microsoft WORD where I keep a recipe folder. I tend to cut and paste recipes found on the internet. The program keeps them neat and tidy for me, alphabetically, easy to see what is in the folder.

In the kitchen I have a top drawer, in between utensils and lids, that I have my most used recipes on 8x11 paper or pages ripped from magazines. I seem to be able to quickly find what I am looking for in this mess of recipes. I mainly have entree and veggie recipes in this drawer, easy to shuffle through for ideas.

Several years ago I received a food recipe booklet finder type thing that has blank lined pages and food related tabs. I list my tried and true recipes from cookbooks in this booklet. It has a place for recipe name, name of cookbook, and page number. This has been a blessing!!!

And I have individual folders for dairy and desserts. I have many cheese making, yogurt, ice cream, milk etc recipes that are all in one loose folder. And I keep my desserts in a similar file. Actually I recently removed the desserts from the kitchen drawer file to the loose folder to reduce the papers in the kitchen drawer.

I frequently rustle through my various stores of recipes and discard and reorganize them.
 
auntdot said:
Thank you bucky, I am glad there is someone else here who is as disorganized as we are.

We store what we can on the computer, but really have no time to organize the hard copies of the many recipes we have not transferred to the computer.

They go in THE BOX.

We try not to open THE BOX.

Everytime we think about organizing THE BOX, we find something better to do.

It is really not all that hard to do: there is always a trip to the dump that needs to be made, or chicken that needs to be quartered, or a sunset that needs to be watched, or a TV show that absolutely cannot be missed.

And we haven't spoken to Uncle Ed in ever so long, and whatever happened to that roomie I had in college?

And I really have not looked at the horses that will be running in the Kentucky Derby (not that we are anywhere where we can make a bet), and the knives do need sharpening again.

Basically will never have the recipes organized, no matter how much time we have.

Have always admired folks who can organize their stuff, but am afraid it is never going to happen to us.

As far as memory sticks go, we own a couple and they are the greatest.

Just gotta keep them out of THE BOX.

A place where they could hide forever.

LOL

Edited for grammar, I hate when I have to do that.

lol, that is exactly what I do.:ROFLMAO:
I'm thinking about taking everything out of "the box" and putting it on a CD or
a palm pilot. Oh, wait...that reminds me I need to clean out the frig.:LOL:
 
I've got a 128 MB USB Jump Drive, which I have used to transfer files. Of course, I now have my desktop and laptop on a wireless network, and I have file-sharing set up, so I don't use the Jump Drive much.

I have thought about the USB 80 GB Hard Drives, but since I have a stack of blank CD-R's from years ago, and new burner on the laptop, I just burn disc's.

Of course, I tend to get a little paranoid about backing up data; stuff that I really don't want to loose gets backed up on both computers in the house, burned to a couple disc's (one of which is stored at a different location than the house), and on the internet if possible. That way, come what may, loss due to fire, burgerly, forgetfulness, or loss of internet access, I'll have some data, somewhere.

There's actually more data than just recipes that I back up like this, like tax documentation, a listing of serial numbers, photos, etc.
 
texasgirl said:
I keep mine in a folder. I had another one that had about 10 years of recipes and evidently got thrown away by that boys!!:mad:
I have an empty recipe book, I just haven't written in it. I get cramps in my hand to much and I hate writing.

I have a recipe book too, but I don't write in it... I cut and paste in it... recipes from magazines, or where ever. If it is a recipe from a friend, I type it up on the pc and print it out and glue it to my recipe book.... no need for writing!!!
 
We have been planning to make a database for our recipes. However I never operated database myself and Cristiano never has enough time to put it together nor train me sufficiently so I could do it myself, so it is still a half boiled project... in the meanwhile the stuff to be put into the future database continues to grow, maybe I should start looking for an "Access for dummies" book...
 
mudbug said:
we call these nerd sticks.

The big boss just gave all of us our own personal NSs for doing such a good job, but I haven't used mine yet.

lol 'bug. . like chevrons on a u.s. military uniform (or more appropriately, pips on a star trek uniform), the number of nerd sticks hanging around your neck indicates rank, and overall gadget-headed nerdiness.
 
Three-Ring Binders with plastic pages for hard-copy stuff + lots of recipes saved on the computer & periodically backed up on cd discs.
 
I keep mine in folders, so I can pull the recipes out one at a time. The trouble is finding the one I need at that particular moment. I have to rifle through a whole pile. I amy consider changing my system to one of yours.
 
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