What would be a good idea to store recipes?

[jeninga75]

As far as a file on the computer. Is there any way to be fancy and organized? Or should I just copy and paste into notepad and keep a running list? What do you all do?

Not quite sure if this is the proper place so feel free to move.

[Katie E]

I have a separate file called "recipes." It's then divided into sub-sections just like my recipe box in my kitchen. Then, no matter, I can find anything I want.

[CherryRed]

I have a recipes folder, than other folders inside that to break everything into categories ("real" food, sweets, etc). Each subfolder has a bunch of word documents in it containing recipes. There are also several websites that let you input recipes and create virtual cookbooks.

[kitchenelf]

I pretty much do what Katie E does.

I create a folder in my Word program titled Recipes

Then I start naming accordingly so they are categorized i.e.,

APPETIZER - Smoked Salmon Lollipops
APPETIZER - Texas Caviar
ENTREE - POULTRY - Chicken Lombardi
ENTREE - BEEF -
DESSERTS - CAKE -
DESSERTS - COOKIES -
DESSERTS - BARS -
PIE - SAVORY - Tomato Pie
PIE - SWEET - Libby's Pumpkin Pie
VEGETABLES - Peas with Rosemary & Pine Nuts
SIDE DISH - old-Fashioned Coleslaw

etc., etc. The list goes on and on. When you enter a new name it alphabetizes itself. Anything is also easily changed. If you want to use more categories such as:

APPETIZER - WINGS - Basic Buffalo Wings
APPETIZER - WINGS - Asian Wings

You can get as precise as you want.

Good Luck!

[jeninga75]

Well that was easy enough! I don't know why I didn't think of that myself. Thanks guys for kick-starting my brain.

Need to go back over a LOT of threads to get the recipes I wanted.

[kitchenelf]

Glad we could help!!

[Andy M.]

I use MS WORD to record my recipes in a standard format, using standard abbreviations.

In Windows Explorer I have a folder named RECIPES.

Within that folder, I have catagory folders such as Meat, Poultry, Desserts, Pasta, etc.

Within each of those folders I have a subfolder named COOKBOOK. In the COOKBOOK folder, I keep all the recipes I have made and added to my hard copy cookbook.

Within the catagory folders, separate from the COOKBOOK folder I have all the untried recipes I have collected for that category.

[jet]

I prefer a spreadsheet over a word processor document.

[wysiwyg]

jeninga75 et all,
I am with jet on this one although I don't keep recipes on my computer.
A spreadsheet like Excel is great because you can even tabulate food content and generate graphics or charts showing % of fat, salt, proteins, etc. I know it sounds complicated, but this is great when planning a balanced menu.

[suziquzie]

I like Mastercook, but this year we bought a program that keeps track of food and excercise, also you can enter prices on your groceries and make grocry lists with pricing.
It takes some effort to get things in there, but once you've used it awhile it is very simple.