Today’s guest is Vanessa Brown from I Never Grew Up.
I don’t know about you, but it seems like more and more, most of the recipes I use have been found on cooking websites and cooking blogs. I still love cookbooks and enjoy owning quite a few too many, but I still think I use online recipes even more than my favorite cookbooks.
Here is the problem I run into though…I find a recipe that I just have to try. Then I print it out or email it to myself so it shows up on my phone and then it promptly gets lost. My husband will ask, “Remember that “such and such” you made last Christmas? I loved that. You should make it again.” This sends me to using search engines or spending hours browsing blog archives to only get frustrated (or distracted) that I can’t find it.
So I have been doing some research and trying out some new things to keep my online recipes organized and at my fingertips for 2011!
- An Actual Physical Notebook: I still prefer the “old fashioned” feel of flipping papers, seeing pictures and adding notes and I think
I always will. - Blog Photo Album: You could also just get a cheap photo album that holds 4×6 photos. Then print out a snapshot of yours or the blogger’s photo of the recipe. Put it on one side of the page and a print out of the recipe formatted to fit the other side of the album page.
- Smart Phone Applications: When I started looking around and asking friends, I was stunned to learn that there are TONS of apps that you can get for your phone to solve this problem. MacGourmet for Mac Users, RecipePad for IPad Users, Paprika Recipe Manager for your IPod and Digital Recipe Sidekick for your Google Android Phone. Google Docs: Almost everyone is on gmail now which is great because Google has created so many great resources for us to use. With Google Docs you can organize your recipes by keyword or category and they will never be lost in the sea of endless blogs & websites again!
- Dedicated Recipe Email: I thought this was an awesome idea as well, and something that could really work for me because it is very easy. Set up an email that is dedicated to JUST be your “recipe email” where you email yourself recipes you want to try, have tried, etc. Then you can organize the recipes just like you do your emails: in different folders, etc.
- Websites: There are websites out there created just to help you keep your recipes organized. Some have a fee and some do not. Some of them are: WeGottaEat.com, MyCookbook.com, OneTsp.com and FoodNetwork.com even has a system if you get most of your recipes from them.
- Social Bookmarking: If you are a big fan of and understand social bookmarking sites like Delicious.com, StumbleUpon.com or Kirtsy.com, you can use these site’s systems to help you organize your online recipes.
Do you have any ideas for organizing your online recipes? I am still in the midst of finding out which option works for me but know I am working in the right direction! One of these ideas is bound to stick to help me with this for 2011.
I know I’m going to work on making my recipe cupboard a little less of an eyesore this year… Thanks for the great tips.
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