How Do You Keep Track of Your Recipes?

GuitarJerry
GuitarJerry Posts: 6,102 Member
in Recipes
While a seeming stupid question, it's a serious one. With the adoption of technology, I find recipes difficult to keep track of.

In the old days, my mom had a Betty Crocker red checkered book, that she used. And, in it, were all kind of pieces of paper and index cards with various recipes that she has found that we all liked. However, today, it's not so simple. I find them in magazines, online, Pinterest, Facebook, here on this board...its a pain in the *kitten*. I struggle to find a common repository for all these things.

I realized this as I was searching for an awesome chicken chili that I've made a few times in my slow cooker, but then realized the recipe is in an online magazine that I no longer have access to. Boo!

Anyway, what's your method of recipe organization? I am starting to think that printing out a hard copy and putting it in a note book might be the best method. But, I'm open to ideas.
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Replies

  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    For the recipes I find in magazines...this is going to sound funny....I tear them out of the book. :laugh:
    And it doesn't matter if they are in magazines I buy or if they are in magazines at the doctor's office..I have been know to clear out any and all recipes I find worth a shot. Then I take those and hole punch them and put them into a 3 ring binder I have made up for those recipes. I have print outs in there, magazine pages, write recipes, etc... I have them separated by sectioners and labels breakfast, drinks, lunch, sides, etc...

    For the small little cards, I have a little recipe box I bought at a book store that I use.

    For recipes online, I have them bookmarked and saved under a recipe tab.
  • links_slayer
    links_slayer Posts: 1,151 Member
    I've got a database of recipes on our PC along with a current inventory of food. It's nice and convenient because I can either see what I can make with what we have on hand or what we need to put on the list for a certain recipe.
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  • imju5tme
    imju5tme Posts: 85 Member
    I have a subscription to Cooking Light magazine, and there is functionality (uses an app called Digimarc) that lets me 'scan'?? the recipe/page with my phone and it stores it. I can access those recipes I've scanned in on my phone (I suppose it would work just as easily with a tablet). Not sure if that really answers the question, but it works pretty well for me. :smile:
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    For the recipes I find in magazines...this is going to sound funny....I tear them out of the book. :laugh:
    And it doesn't matter if they are in magazines I buy or if they are in magazines at the doctor's office..I have been know to clear out any and all recipes I find worth a shot. Then I take those and hole punch them and put them into a 3 ring binder I have made up for those recipes. I have print outs in there, magazine pages, write recipes, etc... I have them separated by sectioners and labels breakfast, drinks, lunch, sides, etc...

    For the small little cards, I have a little recipe box I bought at a book store that I use.

    For recipes online, I have them bookmarked and saved under a recipe tab.

    So, you're the one...when I'm reading an article and I can't finish it because you ripped out the page. ????

    Well...I only go to the Dr. once a year for my physical...usually...so, as long as you don't visit the Dr on the same day as I go for my physical then we are good lol.
    I've got a database of recipes on our PC along with a current inventory of food. It's nice and convenient because I can either see what I can make with what we have on hand or what we need to put on the list for a certain recipe.

    What is the name of this database? I would love something like this!
  • E_Brault
    E_Brault Posts: 362 Member
    I must have 50 recipe books that I never look at, included are all those recipes that I tore out of various women's magazines. What we know about nutrition is continually changing. I looked at my weight Watchers book from the 1980's and would not use those recipes anymore. Long story short, I take photos with my I-pad and keep them in a separate album. My ipad syncs with my i-phone and when I am at the grocery store I can look up ingredients.

    Good luck.
  • mammamaurer
    mammamaurer Posts: 418 Member
    lol i have index cards, allrecipies, here, books and books and books and then a few more books of them, the trick is figuring out what i want to make and then going to my kitchen library, or my comp.
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  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    I went the nerdy route. I created a database and saved them all there. Scanned in ones I find other places. But this way I can go in and do a search for what I want and not have to look through all the books, papers, index cards etc.
  • wannabpiper
    wannabpiper Posts: 402 Member
    Print them out, tear them out, whatever it takes to get it. Drop it into a box. When it's time to find it again, riffle through that box. Takes a lot less time than creating that database and retyping/scanning them in. And believe it or not, I used to teach data management courses :blushing:
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    I like the database because I can print my grocery list from it, and also plan out my meals because I include nutritional information in it as well. My husband also likes to throw out my loose recipes so this way they are safe from my cleaning freak.
  • sarahevenstar
    sarahevenstar Posts: 70 Member
    I print everything out and put it in a page protector in a binder. Makes it all easy to find, I can put the binder on the counter so I'm not running back and forth to the computer and since I have everything in page protectors, if I spill on the book, it wipes right off.
  • Tonnina
    Tonnina Posts: 979 Member
    I have three places I keep my recipes... One is a folder on my computer full of notepad notes saved... When I get the urge to make something from that folder, I print it out (if I have ink, if not I write it out) then put it in the main 3 ring recipe binder and delete it from my computer. One is Pinterest, I do the same thing, I look through my Sweets or my Savory boards and get the recipe then print or write it out and put it in the 3 ring binder... I don't delete my pins though so sometimes there are repeats and I just have to deal with it... My 3 ring binder is specifically for recipes. It came with about 20 double sided blank sheets, 10 recipes on some sheets already, 3 magnets, and two plastic page covers for when things get messy in the kitchen. I have print outs, filled in blank sheets, chocolate chip bags, marshmallow bags, and other recipe cards in there... it's in a drawer in my kitchen, but it is pretty enough to be set out... it just doesn't go with my kitchen theme so in the drawer it goes!!
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  • Meggles63
    Meggles63 Posts: 916 Member
    Pinterest! Believe it or not, many of the recipes you already have are available online. In order to keep track of everything, I pin them to various boards - Salads, chicken recipes, Slow cooker, etc. That way I have easy access.
  • msnucerity
    msnucerity Posts: 333 Member
    If it's a recipe I've yet to make/test out myself, I save it in a folder on my laptop with sub-folders (breakfast, lunch, supper, appies, desserts, etc) so I've got it saved in a central location when I'm feeling up for making something new.

    If it's something I've tried, tinkered with and would make again and again I make the solid effort and write it out step by step in my big-*kitten* binder of recipes which is also broke up by meal types; then I have a place for my fave go-to recipes.
  • msrepairman
    msrepairman Posts: 5 Member
    There are a bunch of web and smart phone applications for recipes, I have use several but I finally decided on "Pepperplate" for my recipes, It has apps for most platforms, as well as web based.
    All are synced between each other. You can import recipes from many popular web sites as well as entering them manually. Once entered they can be edited, scaled and you can create a shopping list of items needed for the recipe.
    Best of all it's Free!
  • GadgetGuy2
    GadgetGuy2 Posts: 291 Member
    We use MasterCoook 5 from Sierra, a PC program. We either copy/paste or re-key recipes into this program, which came with a bunch of cookbooks.

    From there, we can create menus and shopping lists, recipes scale easily, and we sometimes even take a picture of the recipes, which we import into the program.

    When it's time to cook, I print out the recipe and don't worry if it gets all messy.
  • djxil
    djxil Posts: 357
    I log them here, it's awesome, tracks the calories and nutritional value. One day, I hope to take pictures of favorites and make a photo book for my kids.
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  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    Pinterest! Believe it or not, many of the recipes you already have are available online. In order to keep track of everything, I pin them to various boards - Salads, chicken recipes, Slow cooker, etc. That way I have easy access.

    I just don't understand Pinterest. I try and try and I don't get it. I have things pinned and can't find them. It confuses the hell out of me.

    Thank you for this I thought I was the only one that couldn't figure it out!
  • Lovey50
    Lovey50 Posts: 63 Member
    I have the free ColorNote app on my phone and my Kindle Fire, which syncs itself. When I find a recipe online, I copy and paste it there. Its terrific! Especially since I can bring the phone into the store to get the right ingredients.

    I also bookmark recipes on my laptop. I also have a Recipe Box on Allrecipes.com and Epicurious, though I dont check them as often since I started using the ColorNote app. And I have my old recipe box :smile:
  • abyt42
    abyt42 Posts: 1,358 Member
    My mom and I made "family favorite" cookbooks when I went off to college (out of 2 inch binders.) When she died, I took hers (and she'd added bunches of recipes) and we sold the cookbooks. I've upgraded mine to a 4 inch binder, add recipes periodically (both from websites and magazines). I also have a small spiral notebook in the kitchen, so if I'm working on a recipe, I can keep track of what I've done. When it's "right," I move it into the binder.

    I've also got a saved version of the cookbook template on my computer, so, at some point (when I'm done with my masters program, or bored beyond words, perhaps), I'll type the newer (last 15 years worth) of recipes into the same format the others are in....

    People keep giving me cookbooks, however, so those are shelved in the livingroom. My kids pour through them to find things to try out...
  • nmcknny
    nmcknny Posts: 479 Member
    I have a ring binder for recipes I want to try (and likely will try), a recipe keeper--plastic pages with sleeves-- for my tried and true recipes (the ones I cook all the time or have a special meaning for me or my family) and the cookbooks that I use many recipes from. The binder and recipe keeper and a couple of the cook books I use most often are on my counter where I can access them easily. I keep a few other cookbooks that I use frequently but not weekly on my bookshelf.

    I used to tear out or copy recipes as I found them and keep them in a file folder (a physical one, kept on one of my bookshelves) and I had tons of cookbooks. I realized that I would never make all those recipes so, I went through my file and put the ones I knew I would try into a ring binder and used pocket folders to organize them. I used file tabs and wrote titles like "main dishes," "salads and vegetables," "holidays." I threw away a lot of recipes and gave away a lot of cookbooks. I still clip recipes (and print them from the internet) but my "try it" ring binder is reasonable and manageable and even useful :smile:
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  • ClementineGeorg
    ClementineGeorg Posts: 505 Member
    I have a document on my computer in which I write the recipies I like.
    It sometimes is a pain in the *kitten* to translate (if necessary) and write them, but I bookmark them (online or offline) until I can.

    It's the only system in which I can put recipies from all the sources. And I have them in only one place.
  • bluelena
    bluelena Posts: 304 Member
    Print them out, tear them out, whatever it takes to get it. Drop it into a box. When it's time to find it again, riffle through that box. Takes a lot less time than creating that database and retyping/scanning them in. And believe it or not, I used to teach data management courses :blushing:

    This! I have a file box that everything goes in. I went the extra mile and bulldog clipped them together by type: Italian, Asian, chicken, pork, sides, vegetarian, potatoes (!), enchiladas, soups, chilis, etc. I keep a few loose ones on the top of the stack that are "on deck" the next time I want to cook something new. I have magnetic clips on my vent hood so I can hang the recipe right in front of me as I cook. When I'm done with the recipe, it goes back into its bulldog clipped section in the box.
  • Sewilban
    Sewilban Posts: 43 Member
    I had the same problem! I decided to start a recipe blog on Tumblr, since it's a free blogging site. Any recipes I find, I bookmark them, try them, and if they're a success, I immediately put them on the blog. It's mainly for myself but since it's public, anyone who wants to can see it, which makes it easy to share recipes with others.

    Here's my blog if you want an example: http://healthyrecipeexchange.tumblr.com/
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