Handwritten Recipes

[cjs]

Each Jan. 1st, I start a new binder - a big one! - and each day I try a new dish and like it, I date it and put in the binder. I had volumes for years until I finally went thru them and edited ones out.

It's so fun to go back thru the old ones - because I also add a note on the recipe of anything of interest we are doing at the time or the company we had. It's almost like a mini journal.

My MasterCook is bulging at the seams also...

 

[Half Baked]

I also add a note on the recipe of anything of interest we are doing at the time or the company we had

That would be fun. I always think I'll remember everything and zoooom, it's gone.

 

[daisy]

I had zillions of handwritten recipes, some over 100yo, and it got totally out of hand. So I made books from them, putting them all into alphabetical order and in 'chapters' for cakes, beef, lamb, confectionery, preserves, vegetables etc. I did it on the computer, and I've backed them all up onto disk. It's easy to search for a recipe name, or an ingredient, and even if I have a HD crash, I've got the backup version. It's also easy to print out a single page if need be. Mind you, it took me a L-O-O-ONG time to get them all done, but it was well worth the effort. If I thought it was worth the expense, I could always print them out and have them bound, but they are very bulky!

An alternative for you would be some self-stick photo albums, the ones with protective plastic covers. Or you could copy them all out to your computer and print them out as cards of the same size to store in a suitable-sized box. Even a shoe-box, prettily covered, would do.

 

[cjs]

"I always think I'll remember everything and zoooom, it's gone."

CRS - yes, my case is well developed...

 

[Little Miss J]

Each Jan. 1st, I start a new binder - a big one! - and each day I try a new dish and like it, I date it and put in the binder. I had volumes for years until I finally went thru them and edited ones out.

I am going to try this! what a good idea...and perhaps put the ones I use a lot on a memory stick...
Does anyone use a specific program for recipes or just type them up on word?

 

[KathyJ]

Reiman Publications (Taste of Home) has a Country Store where they sell a small book that will keep track of where your favorite recipes are. It's separated by category and then you write down the name of the recipe, the book name and the page #. You could make your own version of this with a small binder.

I've also tried to keep track of ALL my magazine cutouts.... Started years ago taping them to plain paper and then filing by category in a binder. Had originally planned on typing them, but got lazy! since I type at work, I didn't want to do it at home too.

I love cookbooks

But I definitely need to start thinning down my recipes also. Have tons printed from online..... haven't put these in binders yet.... Maybe this is the push I need!!!

 

[AriesGirl71]

Sigh.. ok.. I know it has been a week or two since a post was last made on this.. but have to say.. I FINALLY got my recipes in order.. for the most part. We had a bad bad storm come thru where i live on July 21st (my county was declared a state disaster area.. it was that bad) and I had been without power for 6days and finally got my phone and internet hooked back up tonight.. the phone line had been lying across my backyard. During this time.. of no power.. therefore NOTHING to do.. LOL. I went thru all my cooking magazines, brochures, booklets, etc.. and ripped out all of the recipes that I want to try and put them in a folder and threw out the magazines, etc. Whew!!! My goal is to try one meat/main dish, one veggie/side dish and one dessert recipe from this folder each week. And the ones that have an ok from everyone.. I will write down on a recipe card and add to my recipe box. Something so hard for me , turned into something really simple with the help from everyone here who has posted thier ideas, etc. THANK U SO MUCH!!!

 

[bandonjan]

I too keep my favorite recipes in a binder with page
protecters. Its handy in the kitchen and I don't have to
wonder what book the recipe is in. I also keep them on
the computer, in fact I better go back them up......

 

[shpj4]

Gen

Here in Southern California we have stores such as Staples which carry all sorts of office supplies. I got 2 very long boxes with a medal slide and I can make it as large as I want or as small as I want. I use one for photos and one for receipes.

Hope this helps for storing your receipes.

 

[RPCookin]

If I had to keep mine in boxes or binders or whatever, I'd have a complete mess on my hands (DW is the organizer in this house). I keep them on the computer using "Now You're Cooking" recipe software, and it works great for me. I can search by any of a number of categories, and create as many custom categories as I need. If I had everything on paper, nothing would ever get used, as I'd never be able to find what I was looking for.

I even put in recipes from cookbooks by just using the name and a reference to the appropriate book rather than retyping the whole recipe. These are categorized the same way, and I also have a category for "cookbooks" so I can instantly isolate them.

 

[bjcotton]

I keep all of my recipes on the computer [actually 2 computers in case one dies] and I keep a paper copy. On the computer I keep three cookbooks going. One I import or type new recipes into; then when I have time I do a serious review of those and if I really want to try them they go into cookbook #2. Once I've tried a recipe it is either deleted or copied into cookbook #3 which is my Tried & True Cookbook. I have began inputting notes for each time I make a recipe and do something different with it. I put the notes of what I did even if I don't like the results...that prevents me from doing it again.

 

[FryBoy]

We have a series of three 5-inch by 8-inch 3-ring loose-leaf binders, one for sweets, one for main courses, and one labeled "Etc."

We also have my mother's similar 3-ring binder, and two metal boxes that hold 3-inch by 5-inch cards, one from my mother and one from my mother-in-law.

More recently, I've been keeping some on the computer in both wordPerfect and PDF format, which makes them easy to share with others.

 

[Dina]

Get a bigger index card box! I have a large box with dividers that was handed down to me by my sister. She also let me have all of her hand written recipes from her homemaking classes in high school. You could also get a thick 3-ring binder and begin organizing them in sheet protectors. That works wonders since the sheet protectors keeps the recipes clean.

 

[Claire]

I,too have an index on the computer for my favorite recipes. it tells me if the recipe is hand-written in a binder or box, in a certain old issue of Gourmet, or in which cookbook.

 

[Andy M.]

I,too have an index on the computer for my favorite recipes. it tells me if the recipe is hand-written in a binder or box, in a certain old issue of Gourmet, or in which cookbook.

So, if you're looking for a recipe, you go to the computer to look up its location the go there and look up the recipe? It must have been a lot of work to create that index!

 

[Katie H]

It would be very difficult for me to explain my "system" but suffice it to say it works for me and I have 4 plastic shoebox-like boxes with my 3x5 recipe cards filed according to appropriate food categories. Example: appetizers, breads, cakes, cookies, fish/seafood, etc. You get the idea. I have it divided and subdivided into about 53 categories. I have a separate category for cheesecake (love the stuff) as well as meatloaf. My fish/seafood section is broken down into various kinds of same.

I don't know how many recipes are in those 4 boxes, but I've made them all. Many of them multiple times. I've been cooking and collecting recipes since I was 10-years-old.

I keep a written calendar of our menus and usually have my menus outlined for about 2 months in advance. Most evenings for dinner we have a new untried main dish. One month out of the year, each evening meal is a review of TNT dishes.