Sara emailed in the following tip:
I have subscriptions to Food Network magazine and a few other freebie magazines that have lots of recipes in them. However, I was getting to the point where I was swimming in magazines, post cards, and other cut-out recipes with no form of organization!
I had been given a blank cookbook with empty pages and dividers for a wedding present over three years years ago, so I decided to use it to make my own cookbook with all of my favorite recipes. I bought a few cheap packs of plastic page protectors and decided to compile my favorite recipes and get rid of the rest to free up the clutter in our apartment.
Since then, I have filled it with great recipes that I know are winners in our home. It is a cheap cookbook that can be catered to your family’s tastes! -Sara
I started doing this in December with Christmas recipes and just carried on from there. I usually put in recipes that I find online that I love and I put them in the plastic inserts as well, so that I can have the recipe right beside me when I am cooking or baking and I do not have to worry about getting anything on the paper.
I started one like this a few years ago, and have loved it! I too had also gotten overwhelmed by all the magazines and recipe clippings I had about! I have found that it also makes a great idea for a wedding shower gift that is fairly inexpensive! When sending out wedding shower invites you can ask for them to bring along a favorite recipe, then have a table of scrapbooking supplies set up where they can put together a page to add to the bride-to-be’s personalized cookbook!
I just started working on a binder for all of my recipes! It is so much work! I have been doing this challenge http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/organized-home.html and it was one of the things to do, but it is taking WAY more than a week!
I typed up a cookbook of all my recipes, divided into appetizers, main dish: beef, chicken, etc., desserts. I have a table of contents with page numbers and an index in the back, with a cover page with picture of a kitchen with “Cox Family Recipes” as the title. I bought a black and white laser printer, bought the 24 lb. (heavier) laser paper, printed it out (only prints 1-sided copies :(, then hole punched it, and put the little metal rings (from office supply store) to hold it together. This serves as a very cheap and well-loved wedding gift. I’ve given out more than I can count. Now, mine is in a binder with the sheet protectors, but that was a lot more expensive and time-consuming for gifts. You can always make that suggestion to the recipient – to at least transfer it to a binder.
Making your own cookbook…
I have done the binder and pages for years. I have run out of room. I have about 7 books. What I have also done in the past is save all of my recipes to a word document on the computer. The only problem is I would have to print it out or bring the computer into the kitchen. (not a wise idea when it is so big and heavy.) So what I have been doing recently is save all recipes to a word document then convert to a pdf and then save to my kindle. Which I can also access on my phone. So I have the recipes in a couple places just encase one of them failes. Oh by the way I have also saved the same above documents in a folder I created on yahoo. Never know when I might need a recipe elsewhere. I know this is exessive but I want my bases covered.
I like this “Make Your Own Cookbook” idea using a binder & plastic page protectors. I am going to try it. Thx for the suggestion.
I do the same thing and have a rating system for each recipe I use. I also make notes about little changes that I have done or which family members loves or hates. Not only is it helpful for myself, but when my husband is on his own with the boys they have some tried and true recipes of things they love.
I gave one of these cute ones (empty) to my Dad for Christmas. I know he has a lot of recipes from magazines and the internet that he uses. He thought it was the best idea ever! It was from Barnes and Noble approximately $20 I think. It has pockets, dividers, and blank printer paper in the coordinating pattern so you can print from the internet and it will match the rest of the book. For my own book, I used a 3 ring scrapbook that was given to me years ago as a gift. It already came with sheet protectors. I had just never used it to scrapbook, but it’s perfect for recipes!
I store all my recipes electronically on my HD. I’d hate to think of the tree I’d kill printing out everything. I also keep a back-up copy of all my recipes on a flash drive I keep with me so if I’m at work/visiting I always have them with me. This makes it especially easy when you want to share a recipe(s)!
Most magazines/etc have their recipes online as well (or it’s findable) so it’s super easy to create your electronic cookbook in nothing flat. Any site I’m at I can “save as text*” and file it into my recipe folder, where I have additional folders in sections just like a cookbook. Of course it’s searchable too. Honestly, I don’t need pictures, but since the site name is saved when I copy it, I can reference/go back to the site if I need to. If you wanted to go the extra step and convert the text to word + add the photo you could, but I don’t bother to take the time.
I just bring my laptop into the kitchen. I do have a few recipes printed out and in my Household Notebook, but those are only ones that are beyond tried and true favorites, they must be something that’s earned a heavy rotation as well as personal 5 star rating.
In addition I recently found a site where I can enter a URL of a recipe – from any site, even works with a food forum I’m on, that will take a recipe posted and convert it to a grocery list — that you can add items to so you have just one list. http://www.saymmm.com/grocerylistmaker.php I wish it would scale recipes too, but given it works for most any site/blog I’ve found, I’m happy.
Hope someone finds this info useful. 🙂
*If you are on a PC, go to your File menu in the top left corner, pull down to “save page as” then name it and save it as a text file, choose to file this in the folder of your choice – and you’re done. Takes all of maybe 10 seconds.
We keep 2 binders with 1 being “to try” and 1 with “tried and true”. We also keep an index in the front of the binder with the names of favorite recipes, the name of the cookbook, and the page number. That way we don’t have to copy the recipe or look through every book trying to figure out which one it’s in.
Use photo pages for the smaller recipes, and page protectors for the large ones. No need to fiddle. I bought the best quality three ring binders I could find as these get a lot of use. Found this idea in a magazine several years ago. Just reorganized mine last week on a getaway.
I LOVE cooking and I definitely prefer a little variety. I mostly get my recipes off of the internet, or from books in the library. I go through the books from the library and try recipes out. If I make them and like them I type up the recipe in Word and take a photo of the finished project and add it to my recipes folder on my laptop. Recipes I find on the internet get bookmarked and; again, once they have been tried and approved, they are added to the recipes folder with their own photo. I have printed these off and put them in plastic sleeves in a 3 ring binder; but I mostly use my laptop to access the recipes. One day when I have enough favorites put together, they will likely be categorized and such; but for now I like the convenience of accessing more than one at a time without flipping pages…and wireless internet access is helpful when I need to find information like how much dried herb to use in place of fresh, etc.
I have 4 binders. Dessert, Soup/Salad/Side, Meat/Main Dishes, Bread/Breakfast/Beverages. I put new recipies in the front pocket. I try to pull out new ones every time I write my grocery list. If we like it, it gets filed in the binder in a sheet protector… if we don’t like it… trash! I love this system! If I find a recipe in a book I will type it out or photocopy it to put it in my binder.
I bought several cheap photo albums. They have plastic covers and can hold 5×7 index cards in the plastic sleeves. I copy the recipes onto the cards. Right now everything is just in one album. But as I collect more, I plan to categorize the recipes into seperate books.
I have been considering doing this very thing! I print out so many recipes and I am sick of trying to thumb through folded up recipes but I’m too lazy to shrink all of them to index card size!
I LOVE this idea. I’ve been thinking through how to organize one for quite a while. My question for Sara is this… where did you get the pages for your book? or did you create them yourself?
I tried using a notebook but I hated it. I switched back to index cards but I use the big ones – 5×8, I think. I print recipes off to try, and if we like them, I cut them out and glue them onto the index card. I’m much happier doing it this way.
I have a stand on my counter that I clip recipes I’m preparing to. Sometimes I have three or four at a time. Trying to maneuver full-sized pages was too frustrating. The cards work better for me.
I did this too and it’s always my go to cookbook. Mine is made from a photo album that I received but didn’t match the others on our shelves. It was a great way to repurpose and so easy to clean
I made a notebook like this last year with a cute 3″ three ring binder, page protectors, and my magazine recipes. I have used it a lot this year. I am currently trying to cull my recipes and send some to my college age son who is learning to cook. I may do as the other readers and copy recipes from my many cookbooks and then pass those along, too. I just have too many recipes to ever cook them all but we do like variety and trying new foods.
I admit I started with the 3 ring binders from Hallmark, but now I have 5 books that I worship far beyond even my favorite cookbooks. My only problem are receipes like Chicken Tortilla Soup. Couldn’t decide if I should file under Soup, Mexican, or Chicken? Soup won over Mexican, but just by a bit. haha
February is my “Recipe Organization” month. I started binders by category about five years ago but let my pile of ‘to be filed’ get out of control. Working my way through them now and trying to purge the ones I know I will never actually make. I blogged about it here: http://www.celebrateeverydaywithme.com/2012/02/february-organization-goal-recipes.html
Love this idea! Been looking for a quick way to change my recipes with my family’s ever changing tastes!
I did something similar too when the cooking magazines got to be too much! Relatives had passed their magazines along to me and while I found great recipes, all of the magazines really cluttered up my kitchen. Now I’ve started a “cookbook” of favorite recipes for my daughter. (She’s 7 now.) By the time she’s grown up she should have a nice collection of tried and true recipes to start out with!
I have a binder with dividers and sheet protectors…but it’s nowhere near as cute as this one. I have been guilty of letting it get extremely disorganized lately. I would love to have the motivation to put it all in the computer and print off nice typed pages.
My mom made a cookbook for me out of a 3-ring binder with dividers to separate sections and plastic sleeves to hold recipes. I LOVE it! She had already put some of her favorite recipes in it, and I only add recipes that I’ve tried and we like.
I need to get a new binder as mine has fallen apart.
I’ve done a similar thing as a wedding shower gift…printed out a lot of my favorite or tried-and true recipes for the bride. Sometimes I even include my own chocolate chip cookie recipe which seems to be the best part of the gift…
my mom used one of these to pass along all of our family recipes to me when I got married. now, it is so easy for me to add to when I make up my own or come across great recipes!
Last year my cousin (who is 10) expressed an interest in learning how to cook healthier food than was usually around at her house. I made her a cookbook similar to one here, with simplified, kid-friendly instructions and big color pictures of all the food. She had also asked a lot of questions about what the different vitamins were and how to read the nutrition facts, so I put some of that in it too. Sadly I don’t think she ever got a hold of the ingredients she needed to cook with, but the rest of my family liked it.
I have two boards on Pinterest. One for recipes I would like to try and another for recipes that I loved and will make part of the rotation. After I have made them a few times, I then print the recipes up and put them in the clear plastic protectors and in a binder like you show above. Then I am not wasting paper printing up recipes and not liking them or continually running the computer to look up ingredients once we have decided something is a keeper. I like the my new system and “cookbook!”
I have 2 similar boards on Pinterest as well!
I just finished this project a couple weeks ago. I had over 200 magazines in a bookshelf, and it really helped to clear out some of clutter! I just posted my recipe binder yesterday…
http://www.savemoneylivejoyfully.com/2012/02/taming-clutter-magazines.html
I made one of these over a year ago and love it. I found printable tab dividers at the store and made my catagories and then I use the page protectors for the recipes.
I love allrecipes.com and if I see Rachael Ray cook something I print it ( I don’t care for her cookbooks because I need PICTURES)
If I am busy I will put the reicpes in a manila folder labeled recipes to file and then put then in the binder. This helps organize and keep clutter at bay!
Rachael Ray actually came out with a cookbook with photos of all the steps in the recipe and photos of the finished product. I can’t remember what it’s called, but it’s a pretty cool idea!
I’ve done this and many of your recipes are in it Crystal!
I do the same thing. My husband does 95% of the cooking and it really helps him to have our favorite, tried and true recipes easily accessible to him.
I recently went through a ton of magazines and saved only recipes I think I’ll try some day. I’m slowly trying out each recipe and deciding if its worth keeping. I definitely want to make a book for the ones that I’m keeping. Thanks for sharing!
This is a good idea, but a great way to store them on your computer is with Mircosoft notes. You can clip with from a website and put them in tabs that match with your hard copy in your cookbook. Then you can send them to friends easily or if cookbook gets damaged you have a back up!
I just did this a year ago. It’s just a three ring binder with the plastic page protectors but it works great. I LOVE it. I use it all the time. With so many recipes available on the web I may never buy a cookbook again.
Here is a link to my post when I created my Kitchen Notebook last year.
I love it!
http://heritagecreek.blogspot.com/2011/01/kitchen-notebook.html
I have one also, but just in a plain cheap 3 ring binder with plastic sheet protectors added. I glue smaller recipes onto a sheet of paper, and that way I can get several on a page. Much quicker than retyping or rewriting recipes.
I started a Family Favorites Cookbook in a 3 ring binder about 4-5 years ago. The first section is Desserts, and it begins with a classic chocolate pie recipe from my dear grandmother in her handwriting. It’s currently a messy little work in progress. We all get input on what “makes the cut”, which will be fun as the kids get older. I have a section called “Jury” for recipes we need to try or we’re not sure of yet. My idea, and it’s even written in my will, is that each child will get a copy when they leave the nest;)
I have one too! I also like to make notes of added or subtracted ingredients and highlight things I might miss in the directions.
I do this, too, but because I cook several times a week and frequently like to try new recipes, I still have too many personalized cookbooks! Now I have two systems…a “to try” expandable file and multiple personalized binders broken down into “Breads & Doughs,” “Desserts,” “Poultry,” etc. It’s funny, because one of my projects right now is organizing my books! I really like the 3M Durable File Tabs for creating my recipe groupings within each binder, too, like “Ice Creams” and “Cookies” in the Desserts binder. I’m also working on printing each recipe with a photo and on a color-coded paper if it is a seasonal favorite, like my Thanksgiving meal recipes, etc.
I do the exact same thing – minus the nice make-your-own cookbook that you started with. I just use a three ring binder with page protectors in them. If the recipe is small, I just compile a bunch of them on one piece of white paper and put that in the page protector. It’s also great when you’re cooking because the plastic pages can be wiped down easily if something splatters. I picked up a HUGE box of back-issue Taste of Home magazines from a freecycler and I’ve spent the last few months going through them a few at a time and picking out the recipes that our very picky family will actually eat. It’s a great time saver when it comes to making the menu plan for the week.
We do this and include fun pictures of the kids eating their favorites – I’m hoping 20 years from now, it will be both a useful resource AND a source of fun memories! 🙂
Love, love that idea! 🙂
I have one I started, but I recently started using PlantoEat.com and I’m keeping everything there, now. Cooking Light magazine’s recipes are all online and can be easily imported.
I do! I keep a favorite recipes section in my homemaking binder, divided into breads, appetizers, easy meal ideas and simple desserts. I also wrote out a list of “sides”, there are SO many, but I never think of them! If I remember or hear of a new one I just add it to the list — so helpful when it comes to making a menu plan!! I use it all the time. I tend to try out a recipe a few times before I add it to the file, just to be sure every recipe is a “keeper” 🙂
Definitely going to do this. I currently have a file on my computer but then need to print it to use it. I have a manila folder w/recipes stuffed inside. This would be much more organized! Plus, I think we might have a spare binder and clear protector pages in our office. Why didn’t I think of this 🙂
My mom has done this for years!! People always ask for copies, and a couple of years ago, she put all of her recipes into a file on her computer. Whenever anyone gets married, she prints them off a copy and puts it in a nice binder for them with page protectors.
The best part, though, is that about once a year, she “updates” all the binders. She’s kept track of all of the people she’s given binders and sends them copies of new recipes. Yeah, my mom’s pretty much the coolest :).
Oh my gosh, she IS the coolest! Your mom has really got it together!
I seem to be making comment posts, but they are actually not posting. Thought I would try again. This is a nice idea, very practical. Thanks for the tip.
I have one! I JUST completed this project about a month ago, and I can’t even believe how much mind clutter it clears up! Mine isn’t fancy, but it has dividers and clear page protectors. I used a cute printable I found on Etsy. Here are pictures of mine: http://kelleighratzlaff.com/life/the-friday-5-january-27/
I LOVE this idea!! Thanks for sharing. I have been at a lose as to what to do with all the recipes I get off the internet and from magazines, plain paper would get easily torn out of a binder while laminating would be super expensive. This is much more affordable idea and easily duplicated with homemade dividers. 😀
I just finished this same thing myself. It was a month long project. Deciding what tabs to make, how to label them. I cut the dividers out on my cricut from some pretty scrapbook paper I had lying around, and painstakingly printed out recipes from Evernote and from my documents folders (Before I knew of Evernote) I included recipes from magazines that I already had in a file, also putting them in page protectors. I have a “splash guard” stored at the front of the recipe book. It’s so huge, (3″ size) that I had to put my dessert recipes in a separate binder. Out of site, out of mind right?! This is a serious must for the avid home cook, which I am. I have about 6-7 other cookbooks I use regularly as well. Can you tell I like variety? Crazy, but fun!
Yes I have. I actually have two such binders one marked “Family Favorites” and one marked “Recipe’s to Try”. All the recipes that I pull out of magazines or off the internet I put in the “Recipe’s to Try” binder, when I am looking for something new, I go there. Once I have tried that recipe if we love it it makes the “Family Favorite” binder, if not it gets tossed in the recycle bin. I love this system, I have added all the recipes from my yard sale bought recipe books into our “Family Favorites” book as well, and then sent them to a less prime real estate, out of the kitchen. The only two recipe books found in my kitchen now are my “Family Favorites” and “Recipe’s to Try”. One added bonus all the pages are spill proof. If you get flour or egg on it, just wipe it off and your recipe is saved! LOVE IT!!!