Organize Your Recipes

I love to share a good recipe. For me that is one with a limited number of ingredients, quick to fix and good to taste. If it is low calorie, that is a bonus. One of my good friends doesn’t care how long it takes to cook a recipe. She enjoys the process of combining the ingredients and putting the meal together. Another friend says, if you can't grill it, then isn’t interested. We are also different in the ways we chose to organize our recipes and cookbooks,

There are several methods that work, so pick the one that best suits your style:

Digital Program
There are several programs for organizing recipes on your computer. They offer a selection of categories and search functions for easy access. Some programs allow you to publish your own cookbook. Check out www.cookbookpeople.com and www.cookbooksoftware.com. Some online websites, such as www.recipezaar.com, allow you to enter your own recipes, access other recipes and keep them all together in your account.

Three-Ring Binder
Use magnetic photo sheets or plastic sleeves to protect and store recipes. This works for clipped recipes of various sizes and protects the recipes while being used in the kitchen. Use page dividers with labels to separate the recipes into categories. Some suggestions are appetizers (further divide into meat, fish, vegetable, cheese, other), main dish (further divide into beef, pork, poultry, vegetarian), desserts (further divide into pies, cakes, candy, cookies and bars, miscellaneous). The binder(s) can also be stored on a shelf with your cookbooks.

Recipe Box
Recipe boxes are never big enough for me, but if you have less than thirty recipes that you use routinely, this is a good solution. For more recipes, use a long index cord file box from the hardware or stationery store. Consider laminating the recipe cards to protect them form food stains and moisture. Use index file dividers to separate them into the categories suggested above.

Accordion Folders
Use an accordion pocket folder for each major category of recipe (appetizer, main dish, desert, beverages, etc) and separate into categories within the folder. Label each folder and store them in a convenient spot.

Whatever method you use to store recipes, keep a file folder handy to tuck away new recipes you want to try. After you have tried the recipe, you can decide if it is worth keeping in your recipe filing system.


Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net