Originally, my plan was to call this Monday post "Rooms" and go through different rooms in my house, describing what we were doing for that week in each room. Instead I've decided to call it "In A Food Mood" because I've noticed that you guys like it when I post menus and recipes and kitchen tips. I think this is because 1) cooking is necessary but it isn't always joyous-- we all need inspiration in that department and 2) we're all probably doing a lot more cooking at home in this new, budget-conscious economy we live in.
And so, every Monday it will be my goal to share something to put you "In A Food Mood." Whether it's a full menu plan or tips on cooking or just a favorite recipe, then that's what you will find here on Mondays.
So, what's up for this first edition of "In A Food Mood"? I wanted to talk about my recipe portfolio. All summer I've had this one item on my to-do list that kept getting moved to the next week: "Update recipe portfolio." Basically, my recipe portfolio is a collection of all the clipped recipes I had accumulated corralled into one very large binder, divided into the following sections:
Appetizers
Dinners
Sides
Breads
Breakfast Items
Desserts (and yes this is the biggest section of the book)
Holidays
Miscellaneous
I wrote a post about it last September-- it's buried in the middle of a Daybook entry so scroll down. I included lots of how-to links in case you would like to learn more.
At one point early in the summer, I went through some back issues of Southern Livings and Paula Deen magazines and ripped out the ones I wanted to try. Those torn-out recipes are now sitting in the pocket of my binder, waiting to be affixed to a piece of cardstock, slid into a page protector, and filed into the proper section in the notebook. That step has been on my to-do list all summer. Now that the kids are back in school, I plan to make it happen-- no more excuses!! The one thing that I have found now that I have the recipe binder is I USE it so much. I pull it out when I am planning menus, flip through and in no time I have a week's worth of meals planned. I highly recommend it.
So, if you have lots of clipped recipes you're continually digging through (I used to keep mine in an index card file box), I would encourage you to create a binder instead. It's so much simpler to flip the binder open to the section you're looking for and flip through the pages til you find the recipe you need. And the page protectors keep the recipes safe from drips and splatters while cooking. Since this binder features recipes you've clipped, that means you're much more likely to want to cook whatever it includes!
And actually wanting to cook is more than half the battle. I hope you will all keep coming back each Monday to check out the latest installment of "In A Food Mood." And I hope that reading these posts will put you in the mood to produce some great food for your family!
6 comments:
Good Morning, Marybeth!
Thanks for your organization ideas!! I need to do that!! My recipe box is a disaster. It's funny, though. I can pretty much remember what kind of paper each one is written on and somehow find it.
If you get a chance, hop over to my blog. I actually posted a yummy recipe there on Saturday!
www.kristibutler.blogspot.com
Have a blessed day!
I created a recipe binder while in grad school and I still use it to this day!
I put clipped out recipes from magazines in there, hand-written or typed ones, and even some photocopies of cookbook pages from friends' cookbooks or cookbooks from the library.
Hi Mary Beth, I noticed in your blog that you did not mention homeschooling? Are all your children now attending public school? momspang@verizon.net
Hi Marybeth,
I have a binder with all my recipes in it and I use it almost daily. I have several of your favorites in my binder. I did not think of using the sheet protectors,I should do that. I have enjoyed your Monday Food section now for several years. Thank You. It was nice to have chatted with you at She Speaks. Enjoy your day!
Hugs, Debra
This post was so timely. On my "to do list" all summer has been my recipe pile. It's driving me crazy. I bought the binder and the plastic covers last year and kept putting it off.
This is the week that I am going to tackle this mess.
Thanks for the encouragement. Can't wait to tell you how it goes!
I got lucky because for my 21st birthday, 9 years ago, my mother made me a recipe notebook. I have kept it up for 9 years and use it all the time. I hope to make copies for my girls someday. One thing I find helpful is to throw out the recipes that you try that just aren't worth repeating again.
My mom actually hand typed most all of the recipes (over 200 for sure) and still gives me recipes all the time for me to add.
The dessert section is so large I now have a category for cakes, pies, cookies/bars, and desserts :)
LeAnne
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