While downsizing, I cleaned out and donated quite a few cookbooks.
Now don't get me wrong, I love a great tangible cookbook, BUT I also love a good Pinterest recipe as well.
So...
I decided to purge both the hands-on and virtual recipe collections to keep what I really use and know I will make.
(There were literally cookbooks that had never been opened... cue eye-roll and heavy sigh here.)
Let's start with what made the cookbook cut.
Sometimes, the best recipes come from community-based collections that are assembled as charitable fund-raisers.
The outside books were given to me as gifts, and you can see I've been through them both and use post-it tags to mark the recipes I want to try.
The middle book was one that I personally spear-headed for my daughter's private school when she was in first grade - she's now 24...
All the recipes were collected from ladies (and a few gents) in those respective communities, so they are time tested and true.
They are also easy (no crazy ingredients) or tedious cooking skills needed.
There's always great dip and casserole recipes in these books as well.
The Pioneer Woman (Copyright protected) has some of the best cookbooks in my opinion simply because they have VISUAL step-by-step instructions.
Here's one thing I know about myself: I am more apt to cook a new dish WHEN I can see what it's going to look like in the end.
Ree's cookbooks are filled with classic and not-so-classic dishes that make it easy for anyone to create delicious meals.
Plus, her show is great to boot!
Another surprise find was this Holiday Slow Cooker book that I found at...
Wait for it...
THE DOLLAR TREE!!!
And, just so you know, I bought it in January before the shut-down and I have not been back to the Dollar Tree since then.
(Yes, I know...it's been killing me but I did follow that rule!)
I paid $1.00 for this beautiful cookbook with its stunning photographs of every recipe.
I highly suggest you always check out the books at the Dollar Tree simply because they have some great deals.
This book would make a great gift even if you personally couldn't use it.
I have a circa 1985 Betty Crocker Cookbook that is a true classic.
It does not have photos for every recipe, but it always has the "go-to" recipes like quiche and pot roast.
It too is a great gift for a young person to have when forging out on their own.
The tips in it are truly a big help and I still refer to them.
I sometimes see these in thrift shops as well.
Another book I kept was my (original) Crock-Pot Cookbook - by the original Crock-Pot company.
If I can cook something in a crock-pot, I'm all in.
I can prep and start it early in the day and it's waiting for us when it's time for dinner.
Over the course of cooking for the last 30 years, I've also collected recipes from magazines and other people that I've cataloged into a 3-ring binder.
This was well before print magazine sales started to decline and Pinterest wasn't even on the radar.
Armed with my page protectors, laminator, scrapbook paper, and divider tabs, I tried each recipe.
If it worked and we liked it, I kept it in here.
It was my "modern" version of the recipe box collections and 3x5 index cards that my mother and grandmother had.
Some of the recipes are advertisements, like this laminated French's Fried Onion ad.
It's an easy recipe that's a mock fried chicken with fewer calories but still crunchy and tasty.
I also started to add some printed recipes which I slipped into page protectors and placed behind the appropriate divider.
Needless to say, the 3-ring binder filled up and I needed an additional place to store those recipes that I knew I'd make more than once.
So...enter the Happy Planner Recipe Book.
This is my new way to store my recipes, especially since I am now "downsizing" those recipes to serve the two of us.
I also grabbed the Happy Planner food sticker books to dress up my pages.
I made sure to laminate any tips and tricks to add to the book.
Using an arc ring punch means that I can slip them in and out as needed, just like my recipes.
As I find things that work, I rewrite them (yes, I do this and I enjoy it) adding stickers and any additional notes that werved me while creating and cooking.
Here's the one I use for my Rosemary Bread.
One thing I make sure I do is to include a note as to where I found the recipe IF that's available.
This is helpful as well if I want to look for additional recipes.
I also use this as a way to scale back a recipe.
This recipe was WAY TOO BIG for just to two of us but it is so yummy so I didn't want to abandon it.
Taking the time to scale back while writing it makes it easy to replicate.
In addition, it's easier to double or triple a recipe while cooking in lieu of halving it, especially with increments of teaspoons and table spoons.
As I find recipes I want to try, I print them and hang them on the frig.
I put them into the weekly round when meal planning.
If they are up to par they get added to the pile of rewrites.
When I collect enough recipes, I'll take some time in the evening while watching TV to transfer them to my recipe book.
It's here that I make notes, changes, and scale down for easy use later on.
Now, it's off to eat my crock-pot lasagne recipe that I WILL need to scale down as this is way too much for just the two of us.
But, it's delicious and something I will definitely cook again.
Do have a romance with recipes?
I sure do... and boy is it a love story!
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