Sick of Leafing Through Recipes

[Raindance]

You have a stack of cookbooks, a pile of recipe cards, clipped recipes, ones printed from the web. Some are old standbys, some you want to try some day, and there are lots of recipes in each cookbook that you know you will never use. When you want to find a new dish to make or need to look for a certain recipe, you have to leaf through a mountain of recipes to find the one you want. This happens over and over.

I like looking through a new cookbook, but going through the same old recipes is a big chore and gets pretty old. Has anyone found a solution to this problem?

 

[Kathleen]

Post-it notes. I generally have one or two recipes per book, so little tabs to index would work or me.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I do the same as Kathleen, I always have sticky notes while I read my new cookbooks. I write a "B," "L," or "D." on the note.

 

[LPBeier]

I'm a sticky note person as well, though I now have a netbook and am trying to get all my recipes in there (I have recipe software) so that I can search them all and have the recipe of choice come up on the screen rather than printing it. Of course I do keep the computer out of the prep area!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I'm a sticky note person as well, though I now have a netbook and am trying to get all my recipes in there (I have recipe software) so that I can search them all and have the recipe of choice come up on the screen rather than printing it. Of course I do keep the computer out of the prep area!

I got a cookbook stand...I don't know where to put it! D'oh!

 

[Zhizara]

I do the same as Kathleen, I always have sticky notes while I read my new cookbooks. I write a "B," "L," or "D." on the note.

Huh?

 

[Zereh]

I'd guess Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

 

[Zhizara]

Thanks, makes sense.

 

[CraigC]

I like browsing through BA, cookbooks, online and our accumulated recipe book and file on the computer. I do this every week when making a grocery list. I'll get an idea of what I want to make and a general idea of where to look. A lot of times I'll just use a recipe for reference and do my own thing. Sometimes, when I'm not really sure of what to make, I enjoy flipping through for ideas. Although he is persona non gratis, we still use the "Frugs" books.

Craig

 

[Mimizkitchen]

I use a program called Recipe Center 6.0, it's a free download that has recipes built in, but you can also add your own recipes and create shoppings lists...

 

[Raindance]

If you store your recipes on the computer, if it crashes, do you loose everything or are the recipes stored online?

 

[CraigC]

We back up and store on dvd.

Craig

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I'd guess Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

That's it!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

If you store your recipes on the computer, if it crashes, do you loose everything or are the recipes stored online?

I have all my computer recipes stored on my Gmail account. I like this because I can access it when I'm at my parents and cooking.

 

[garlicjosh]

When it comes to my cookbooks, I'm like everyone else with the sticky notes, however I actually label mine. I also type the ones I use on a regular basis and store them on an external drive on my computer, on the food network website and soon on my own website...I really never fear about not knowing where my recipes are.

 

[chopper]

OK...I am not nearly as organized as the rest of you guys. But when I need to make something I generally remember which book it was in (at least it is narrowed down to two or three books), so in the front page of each book I write down my favorites and the page number it is on. My grandma used to do this too, and it is so fun to look at her old cookbooks and see what things she made the most for her family by looking at the very front page. By the way, my signature is from a plaque on the wall in her kitchen!

 

[Raindance]

Is there a search engine with the computer recipe program where you can search for a certain ingredient to make it easier to find a particular recipe? How do you find one recipe among all of them?

 

[Andy M.]

Is there a search engine with the computer recipe program where you can search for a certain ingredient to make it easier to find a particular recipe? How do you find one recipe among all of them?

The recipes would be listed in alphabetical order...

You could sort them into folders by type-meats, veggies, Asian, Italian-whatever you prefer.

 

[Mimizkitchen]

Is there a search engine with the computer recipe program where you can search for a certain ingredient to make it easier to find a particular recipe? How do you find one recipe among all of them?

Not sure if you are talking about the one I use, but if you are no there is no search engine... It is preloaded with recipes and then there is, what they call a basket, where you enter your own recipes...

 

[Andy M.]

raindance, the simplest way to organize your recipes is to use theowrd processing software on your computer and type recipes into it in a standard format. You can create folders like sections of a cookbook for things like appetizers, soups, salads, stews, meats, etc. Then you file the recipes in their folders and they would automatically list in alphabetic order.

I keep almost all my recipes on my computer. All the ones I use regularly are there and ones I want to try as well but in separate folders.

If I use a recipe out of a cookbook I have and find I like it, I type it into the computer and save it there. That way I only ever have one place to look for a recipe.