Organizing recipes from magazines

[kwelch10377]

I have a ton of cooking magazines and they are beginning to take up a lot of room. What do you do with the recipies from them, do you cut them out, do you just tear out the pages or do you write/type them out on recipe cards?

 

[luvmy3]

right now I just have them in folders stored with my cookbooks but I'm asking dh to get me the Demy digital organizer for them. I used to write them out on recipe cards but I have so many that I just didn't feel like doing it. I try to keep them orgaqnized in colored folders so its easy to find what I'm looking for but somtimes I'll just throw then in the first one I grab so it really defeats the purpose .

 

[Imzadi]

Most of the recipes can be found on the magazines websites, or similar enough recipes found at websites like allrecipes.com. I simply do a copy & paste into a Word document of those recipes I can find. I can always tweak or edit the Word document recipe once the bulk of it is in the document.

 

[NMAmy]

I've got two binders. One has recipes that I've cut out of magazines that I haven't tried yet. I've got one page protector for each main ingredient (beef, chicken, fish, eggs, vegetarian, side dishes, desserts) and I tuck the recipes into the proper page. I can go to that binder for inspiration when I want to try something new.

After I try a recipe, if we liked it, it goes into the main binder in the kitchen. If we didn't like it, the recipe gets tossed.

 

[The Princess]

Mine are a mess...I'd love some ideas

 

[dawn1620]

If you have a scanner - you could scan and store on your computer, easy to organize.

 

[FireDancer]

If you have a scanner - you could scan and store on your computer, easy to organize.

This would be my suggestion. They can be scanned in as PDFs or simple text files and stored on the PC and backed up with the rest of your data.

 

[kwelch10377]

I was thinking about maybe scanning them, but I like to have the recipe right in front of me and not sure if it would be a waste to print it out each time and I don't think bring my laptop into the kitchen would be the best idea since I tend to be a messy cook.

 

[disykat]

I have a 4x6 file box. (two actually) I kind of like the mishmash of cut outs, folded up print outs, recipe cards, etc. I like the memories of where the recipes came from. Having them sorted into lots of categories makes it pretty quick to find the one I want.

 

[Karibeth19]

I tear out the pages with recipes I like, use a three hole punch on them, and stick them in a big binder. I have it separated out into favorites, holiday favorites, main courses, sides, and of course, desserts! Works well enough for me, and doesn't take a lot of time.

 

[Imzadi]

I was thinking about maybe scanning them, but I like to have the recipe right in front of me and not sure if it would be a waste to print it out each time and I don't think bring my laptop into the kitchen would be the best idea since I tend to be a messy cook.

Put them in those plastic sheet protectors.

Do photo albums still make those sticky sheets in which you just lay pictures, or in this case, recipes, onto a sticky backed page, then cover over with a sheet of clear acetate?

There are also inexpensive laminating machines at craft stores. Affix the recipes onto cards & laminate them. Waterproof, and can be laminated individually for filing or pulling out when cooking.

 

[flaps]

I tape recipes that I've gathered that I'm interested in trying onto 3x5 index cards, and then file them in plastic card files. Once I've tried a recipe, I either keep it with other tested, favorite recipes or discard it.

 

[Rora]

I've got two binders. One has recipes that I've cut out of magazines that I haven't tried yet. I've got one page protector for each main ingredient (beef, chicken, fish, eggs, vegetarian, side dishes, desserts) and I tuck the recipes into the proper page. I can go to that binder for inspiration when I want to try something new.

After I try a recipe, if we liked it, it goes into the main binder in the kitchen. If we didn't like it, the recipe gets tossed.

This is exactly what I do.

 

[Jill in Chicago]

I rip them right out of the magazine while I am reading. I put the ones I want to try in a basket that goes in the pantry. Once a recipe is a "winner," it goes in a sheet protector and into a binder.

I've found if I think I will go back through a magazine "later," it never happens. I do not keep magazines. They go right into recycling. If there isn't time to read them then it's time to cancel the magazine!

Sounds like a big process, putting it in a protector and binder, but honestly it takes minutes and it keeps the recipes clean. (We are messy cooks!)

 

[theycallmered]

I subscribe to a lot of cooking magazines. Most publish their recipes online the month following. I book mark the recipe, ensuring that the title of the recipe is in the bookmark name.

I have all of my food book marks broken down into various categories (ie, breakfast, chicken, beverages, appetizers, recipes to make again, etc.). Then, since I am using Firefox as my web browser, I use xmarks.com to have all of my bookmarks saved online and available to me.

I really like xmarks.com. It has a great search function. If I am looking for a recipe to use asparagus, all I have to do is type in 'asparagus' into the search function. Any recipe that has the word asparagus in its title will pop up in the search results.

My system is not perfect but it is much better than having a foots worth of paper floating around my kitchen.

 

[eeyore65]

I now use zip list recipe clipper on-line. I also get all the magazines but upload the recipes to that. It sync's to my iphone so I pick the recipes for the week and it automatically creates a categorized shopping list for me. I "shop" my pantry first and then end up with a very well organized list. It has saved me a ton of money and time. And we end up with some good new recipes.