Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Crock Pot Lasagna (gluten and dairy free!)

I adapted this recipe from one I found somewhere on this blog.  I ended up changing the amounts quite a bit, but am ever grateful for the general idea.  This tastes like lasagna!


1 lb ground turkey, cooked with onion flakes and garlic salt
     (you could also use sausage and some Italian seasoning)
10 oz gluten free lasagna noodles
3/4 cup cashews
1/2 cup almond milk
2 - 24oz spaghetti sauce jars

In Vitamix, blend 1/2 cup cashews and 1/2 cup milk.  After this is blended, add another 1/4 cup of cashews to thicken it up.  This is your "cashew cheese".  You could throw in some Daiya shredded cheese if you wanted to.

Spray crockpot with canola oil.  Layer meat and sauce, uncooked lasagna noodles, and cashew cheese.  Repeat several times.  Be sure the top is coated with enough sauce that the noodles are covered.

Cook on low 3-4 hours.



Isaac was a big fan!

Friday, February 28, 2014

Fondue

This was a fun meal that we did with the kids on New Year's Eve.  Years ago, while visiting friends in Germany over New Year's, we had fondue.  That tends to be the time of year now that I think about having it.  I love fondue but thought it might be difficult with all the little ones.  It turns out it was a blast and they did great!


On our table we had:

fondue pot with chicken broth in it

an extra carton of broth as it does evaporate

raw chicken cut into chunks

broccoli

cauliflower

lil smokies links

sauces and spices - butter, garlic salt, BBQ sauce, ketchup, seasonings

a pot of cooked wild rice


The kids had so much fun "cooking their own food".  The lil smokies were a great addition to the table because they were already cooked and just had to be warmed a little and could be eaten quickly. The best part is seriously the broccoli - it turns out so tasty cooked in the chicken broth!  Julia thought so too because she kept eating tons of broccoli and cauliflower.  We all enjoyed the slow pace of this fun meal and are looking forward to trying it again sometime.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Chocolate Peanut Butter Spread (Dairy Free)

Before we were gluten and dairy free, it was a birthday tradition to have Nutella toast for breakfast.  Not wanting to disappoint my kids, I've searched for homemade Nutella recipes many times, but have never made them.  I mean really, who has time to go out and find hazelnuts and roast them and... yeah....  I finally came up with a good solution.  Julia was thrilled that she got to have "Nutella" toast for her sixth birthday this morning!!



(Ok, this is not Nutella, but its chocolatey and sweet and spreadable and totally works for us.  Try it and let me know what you think.  Its also a ton cheaper than the all-natural hazelnut spreads out there.)

1/2 cup peanut butter (no sugar added; if yours has sugar in it, use less honey)
1/2 cup honey (can also use maple syrup for a different flavor)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla

Mix and eat!  :)

Friday, July 19, 2013

Dilly Beans

Dilly Beans are probably our all time favorite summer snack!  It started out as an accident.  I ran out of cucumbers for making sun pickles and threw in some green beans.  The girls LOVED them and we've been making dilly beans ever since.


Grab a bag full of fresh green beans at your local farmer's market or CSA and get started.  If you have a little helper like this, even better:


 Snap the tops off of your fresh beans and wash them.  In a large sun tea glass jar, layer:

green beans
3-4 large sprigs of dill
5-6 cloves of garlic
more green beans to fill the jar

In a pitcher, stir together:

2 cups vinegar
1/4 cup pickling salt
enough water to fill the pitcher

Stir until the salt is dissolved and pour over beans.  Add enough water to cover the beans and fill the jar.  (After the lid is on tightly I shake the jar a bit just to be sure the vinegar/ salt solution is well mixed with any water I added.)  Place outside in the sun and wait 2 days.  After this point I leave them outside for a few more days, just because the kids love snacking on them while they play.  Any leftovers can be refrigerated for longer storage.


Enjoy!  If you make these, let us know how it goes.  :)

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Gluten-free, Dairy-free Chocolate Donuts (Paleo Indulgences Book Review)

Our gluten-free, dairy-free diet continues...  Many of my recipes have come from The Healthy Gluten Free Life.  I love the cookbook, so when I saw that the author had come out with a new book, Paleo Indulgences, I begged her to let me review a copy.  ;)


The Paleo diet is new to me, but it is gluten free and contains minimal dairy, so most of the recipes work for us.  Its actually grain free too; the baked goods are made with almond flour or coconut flour (much easier than the zillion different gf flours needed for some things).  Paleo Indulgences is not a Paleo guidebook, rather it tells you how to make those special treats you might be missing from time to time.  (Read: a mother's lifesaver!)

With Christmas coming up, and therefore all of the holiday recipes that we can't eat, I've been trying hard to come up with replacements.  I splurged on two donut pans and decided that would be our Christmas morning meal.  Of course we've had to test out a few recipes to be sure they work well...


This morning I used this recipe from Paleo Indulgences:

Chocolate Mini-Bundts

1/4 cup coconut flour, sifted
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

4 eggs
1 Tbs vanilla
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

  1. Preheat the oven to 350.  
  2. Place the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
  3. Add the wet ingredients, except the coconut oil, to the dry and mix well with a hand mixer.
  4. With the mixer on low, slowly pour in the coconut oil.  Mix well.
  5. Divide the batter evenly among a 6-cavity greased mini bundt pan.
  6. Bake 22-25 minutes, or until the center of the cakes spring back when pressed lightly.
  7. Cool 10 minutes in the pan and then turn out onto a wire rack.  Cool completely before frosting.
I used two donut pans, and baked them for 15 minutes.  For the frosting I mixed some powdered sugar with a bit of coconut milk.  The donuts were cakey tasting, but my kids were completely thrilled!  We certainly didn't have any leftovers.

I'm sure I'll be using many more recipes from Paleo Indulgences.  Like The Healthy Gluten Free Life, there are full-page color photos for each recipe.  It is well written and easy to follow, with great information in the front of the book.  One thing to note is that recipes are sometimes small and need to be doubled for my family.  

Thanks, Tammy!

Friday, November 2, 2012

Easy Gluten Free Bread

I can hardly believe that I've survived six months of being gluten free and dairy free.  Up until the day that I started, I never thought it was something I would be able to do.  We've struggled to figure things out along the way, but so far it has been doable.  A friend recently shared her gluten free bread recipe with me.  I changed it just a bit, and have been making it regularly.  After searching hard for a good easy recipe I was thrilled to get this one!



2 1/2 tsp yeast
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup sorghum flour
1 cup tapioca starch/ potato starch*
3 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs

1 1/4 cup warm water (Heat to between 100-110 degrees.)

*Use a mix of the two starches.  Lately I've been using 3/4 cup potato starch and 1/4 cup tapioca starch.

Place ingredients in bread machine in order given, with yeast being on the bottom.  Turn bread machine on and slowly pour in warm water.  Use a spatula and scrape down the sides, helping the machine mix for a minute or two.  Close the lid and let the machine do its work.  :)

Gluten free bread dough is more sticky and wet than a typical yeast dough.  It does not require as much mixing or baking time, so usually a rapid bake setting works best.  I use a setting called "Basic Light".

I love how easy this recipe is.  It uses minimal measuring utensils, and comes together quickly.  This is the basic sandwich bread that we keep on hand.  To save even more time, you can put together baggies of the brown rice flour, sorghum, starches, xanthan gum, and salt.  

Do you have a favorite gluten free recipe?  I bet this would make a good cinnamon swirl bread or other variation.  Let me know if you give it a try!

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Guacamole Salad

This is such a simple idea, but I had never tried guacamole on salad before.  Delicious!


I love ranch.  Creamy, dairy-filled, can't eat it right now because I'm dairy free, ranch.  Italian dressing is okay, but sometimes I prefer something not so oily.  Surprisingly, the guacamole actually satisfied my creamy craving and was perfect on this salad.  The recipe is simple:

lettuce
bacon
tomatoes
guacamole
salsa
Pile on a plate and eat!

Easy Bacon:
Bake in a broiling pan at 400 for 20-25 minutes.  (Line the bottom of the pan with foil to catch the drips.)

Guacamole: (recipe from a friend who got it here)
2 avocados
2 Tbs lemon juice (or 1Tbs lime juice and 1 Tbs lemon juice)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Gluten-Free Baking

I have not one, but eleven new ingredients on my kitchen counter.  Things I have never purchased, baked with, or even heard of before!  This gluten-free baking thing is not for the faint of heart.


I am finding The Healthy Gluten-Free Life to be an amazing resource!  The author explains all of the different flours and ingredients used in gluten-free baking.  Her recipes all have full page color photos and simple instructions.  I'm excited to start trying them.

Using the book as a guide, I made my shopping list at Vitacost:

whole grain teff (never heard of this!)
potato starch
potato flour (different from potato starch?)
sorghum flour
xanthan gum (not even sure how to pronounce these two!)
tapioca flour
whole millet
whole amaranth
coconut nectar (for coconut ice cream)
green pea flour (seriously, there is such a thing?)
almond meal

So far I've only made one simple recipe - Almond Lemon Cookies.  Julia was not a fan of these, but she doesn't like lemon baked goods anyway.  Lucy and Esther enjoyed them.  I need to grind up the teff, millet, and amaranth with my Vitamix dry container and then tackle gluten-free bread baking.  I'm a little scared of how it might turn out!



Saturday, April 14, 2012

Raw Cookie Dough Bites

I get soo hungry when I'm nursing!  It can be tough to find something quick, easy, and healthy to eat.  I've recently had to cut out diary and eggs for Isaac, so that makes it even more of a challenge to find something to eat.  Thankfully these two recipes fit the bill (gluten free, dairy free, egg free).


Nursing Mom Crack Raw Cookie Dough Bites


1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs coconut flour
3 Tbs ground flax seed
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup chocolate chips (Enjoy Life brand is dairy free.)

Mix peanut butter, honey, and vanilla until creamy.  Grind flax seed and add.  I grind the coconut flour also to get the lumps out.  Add all ingredients and mix everything well.  Shape into tablespoon size balls and refrigerate.  Grab from the fridge and eat whenever the mood strikes.

You can also freeze these on a cookie tray and then keep them in a ziploc bag in the freezer.  I'd have to make a triple batch for any of them to get that far though.  Perfect quick protein snacks for little hungry tummies or nursing moms ...okay, dad can't resist these either!  For the original recipe and other variations see here.  Another similar treat:

Oatmeal Energy Bites


1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips (Enjoy Life brand is dairy free.)

Mix and scoop into tablespoon size balls.  These are crumbly, so I sometimes add extra peanut butter or honey.  Chill and serve.  Store in the refrigerator.

Do you have a favorite easy snack?  Please share!

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Gluten Free?

I've been avoiding this for a year or more now.  We finally decided that we just had to give it a try.  For the last five weeks, Lucy has been gluten free.  I can't say yet if its helping her or not; we're still in the trial period.  Initially it seemed soooo hard, but we're fumbling our way through and finding our resources. Because we began this when I was very pregnant, I've been buying quite a few pre-made things, instead of playing with recipes.  My thought has been to just do whatever we can to get through a trial period, and then if we stay gluten free for the long term, I'll do more of my own baking.

This is definitely not a comprehensive guide to going gluten free; I just thought I'd post what we are doing to start.  Rather than pages of gluten free resources and recipes, I think I would have liked to see a basic "this is how we started" kind of post.  So here is mine:


Recipes:

These are all very basic, normal recipes that are gluten free.  They don't require any fancy flour mixes or anything.  She does use coconut flour in a couple things, and we've had good success experimenting with that.

Coconut flour muffins are easy enough to make.  We like them with chocolate chips or blueberries.

These raw cookie dough bites are yummy!  (They use coconut flour.)

I've made these black bean brownies before and we all enjoyed them.

My baked oatmeal recipe is gluten free, as long as you buy gluten free oats.

This is my normal waffle recipe, again, gluten free with the right kind of oats.


We've purchased gluten free: Udi's whole grain bread, a couple kinds of crackers, brown rice tortillas, a gluten free pancake mix, breakfast bars, Annie's bunnies, etc.

Normal things that we eat that are gluten free: any fruit or veggies, rice, potatoes, quinoa, tortilla chips, brown rice pasta, eggs, cheese and other dairy.


Lucy's meals look like:

Breakfasts: eggs, smoothies, Udi's GF bread with peanut butter and honey, breakfast bar, oatmeal, pancakes, or waffles

Lunches: leftovers from dinners, GF bread sandwiches, GF crackers and cheese, tortilla chips and cheese or hummus

Dinners: anything with rice, potatoes, brown rice pasta spaghetti, soup with rice instead of noodles, etc




I just purchased this book to start gluten free baking with.  I also just bought the dry container for my Vitamix blender so that I can grind my own flours (brown rice, etc).  We have had to watch out and not let Lucy eat things just because they are gluten free.  Many of the foods or mixes sold in stores are overly processed, contain too much sugar, or are made with white flours (white rice flour, and other things that are pretty lacking nutritionally).  Hopefully I will be able to figure out a few more recipes soon here.

There you go, a jumble of ideas to help you get started if you are considering giving gluten free a try.  Please leave a comment and share your favorite gluten free resources!

Friday, March 16, 2012

Whole Wheat Muffins

These are easy to whip up and our whole family enjoys them!


Whole Wheat Muffins

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
Cream together butter and sugar, add egg.
2 cups whole wheat flour (I use hard white wheat.)
1 tsp baking soda
Combine.
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp vanilla
Combine.
Add flour mixture and milk mixture alternately to bowl and mix well.  Fill muffin tins 2/3 full.  Bake at 425 12-15 minutes.  Makes 12.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Freezer Food

My freezer stays pretty full.  We take monthly trips to Costco and purchase bulk bags of organic frozen veggies, chicken breasts, loaves of whole wheat bread, and more.  I love having all of that on hand, helping me avoid trips to the grocery store.  In the last weeks of my pregnancy I made a trip to Costco, the health food store, and Meijer, stocking up on anything and everything.  When I got home, I realized that I did not have much room left for storing freezer meals.  Even so, I managed to fit in a few things.  I am definitely enjoying the convenience of premade food right now.  Here is what I froze:

breakfast this morning

whole wheat muffins
coconut flour muffins with chocolate chips
granola bars
sloppy joe meat (I double the sauce and instead of more meat, use cooked brown rice.)
shepherds pie
cheesy mini burgers
I tried twice to double this chili recipe, but it was so good we ate it all before it made it to the freezer both times.

The granola bars have been nice for a late night snack.  I get sooo hungry, especially in these first days of nursing.  Oatmeal is great for milk production too, so thats a bonus!  I am still planning to double my recipes whenever I cook so that I have meals on hand for days that we need them.

What are your favorite freezer meals?

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Homemade Seasoning Mixes

I've been using homemade seasoning mixes for quite some time now.  I love not having to buy numerous packets of things any more!  If I run out, I just refill my jars using these recipes:

(Don't leave the taco seasoning like that, mix it up.  I just thought it looked neat.)

Fajita Seasoning

1 Tbs cornstarch
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
1/4 tsp cumin

2 Tbs of this mix = 1 packet.  Mix with chicken broth and add to cooked sliced peppers, onion, and chicken strips to make tasty fajitas!  Serve with homemade tortillas of course.  ;)


Ranch Seasoning
from heavenlyhomemakers.com

5 Tbs dried minced onions
7 tsp parsley flakes
4 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder

2 Tbs = 1 packet.  I use this for ranch potatoes or as a seasoning on chicken.  I haven't been able to make a dip or dressing with it that I love yet.  I need to try again though.


Taco Seasoning
from passionatehomemaking.com

6 tsp chili powder
4 1/2 tsp cumin
5 tsp paprika
3 tsp onion powder
2 1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Use about 3 Tbs for 1 packet.

Are there any other spice mixes I should try?  linked to Kitchen Tip Tuesdays

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Egg Drop Soup

My girls love eating egg drop soup.  Its healthy, easy, and inexpensive using these ingredients from Costco:


Egg Drop Soup
one carton chicken stock
3 cups water
3 tsp Better Than Bouillon chicken
1 garlic clove, minced
Bring to a boil in a large pot.

2 handfuls of noodles
Add and boil 12 minutes as directed on package.


2 eggs, beaten
While soup is still boiling, pour eggs slowly into the pan.  As you pour, use a fork to vigorously stir the egg in the pan, to avoid any large clumps.  Continue boiling for a minute or two and then serve.

Enjoy!  (And check out my Tips for Feeding Soup to Kids post for help making it less messy!)

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Favorite Crock Pot Uses

My crock pot gets plenty of use over the winter!  I enjoy having the house smell nice all day long and sitting down to a warm dinner without much effort on my part.  Some of my favorite recipes:


Baked Potatoes - While you're at it, make Baked Potato Heads!  We also like using baked potatoes for taco potatoes or hashbrowns and eggs.


Whole Chicken - This tender juicy chicken always gets rave reviews.  After the meal, put the bones back in the crock pot and cook them overnight to make yummy broth.  Use the broth in recipes, or make a batch of chicken soup.


This Gumbo is extremely easy to make, using dry beans and uncooked chicken.


Soaking dry beans is easy to do and frugal.  If I am cooking a batch of beans we usually have beans and rice for dinner.  Add some homemade tortillas and this is one of my favorite meals!

Slow Cooked Beef and Potatoes is another yummy comfort meal that we enjoy.

Do you have a favorite crock pot meal?

linked to Kitchen Tip Tuesday

Friday, December 30, 2011

Easy Christmas Treats

Lucy and Julia enjoy helping me make these simple Christmas treats.  They are certainly not healthy, but make a fun easy treat for Christmas parties.


Pretzel Kisses

bag of waffle style pretzels
bag of chocolate kisses (regular, carmel filled, mint, etc) or Rollos
bag of m and ms

Cover a baking sheet with pretzels.  Top each one with a chocolate kiss.  Bake at 275 for 3-4 minutes, just enough to melt the chocolate.  While they are hot, press one m and m into each.  Yum!

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Christmas Cookie Tips and a Recipe

My best tip for baking roll out Christmas cookies?  Invite someone over to help!  Last year we made our cookies at a playdate.  This year Grandma and Grandpa came over to help with the long process of rolling, cutting, and baking join in the fun.


The girls loved rolling out the dough and using cookie cutters.  Esther put each cookie in her hand and had to show it to everyone before putting it on the tray.  They all worked very hard and are so proud of their creations.


Tip #2: We will probably frost a few of them just for fun, but we enjoy eating these unfrosted for the most part.  They store well in the freezer that way and we just grab a few out at a time to eat.

Tip #3: If you enjoy soft chewy cookies, roll the dough a bit thick and use large cookie cutters.  It helps the process go faster that way as well.  ;)

Tip #4: Give some away!  We sent a bag full of cookies home with Grandpa and Grandma and still have plenty left over to enjoy.


Tip #5: Use soft white wheat flour to make these whole wheat, yet still light and tasty:

Roll Out Sugar Cookies

1 1/3 cup butter
2 cups sugar
Cream together.

2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
4 Tbs milk
4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Beat in ingredients.  Chill overnight, roll, cut, and bake at 325 for 8-10 minutes.

linked to Kitchen Tip Tuesdays

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Tex-Mex Chicken Appetizers

We ate these tasty little appetizers for lunch today because I wanted to test out the recipe before bringing them to a couple of holiday events.  I enjoyed these once at a Pampered Chef party but had never made them myself.  The recipe is easy enough to mix up and has a delicious flavor.  Ross' only suggestion was to add a slice of jalapeno pepper to the top.  I think they are perfect as is.  They are different enough than your average party food that I think they will be a success!


Tex-Mex Chicken Appetizers

1 loaf canape French bread*
Slice into about 20 slices and arrange on a baking stone.

1 10 oz can chunk white chicken, drained and flaked**
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup mayonaise
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix well.  Using a medium scoop or spoon, place one scoop on each slice of bread and gently smash it down.

2-3 plum tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Top each slice of bread/ chicken mixture with one slice of tomato.  Sprinkle cheese over tops.

2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes until bread starts to brown and cheese is melted.  Sprinkle with cilantro.  Serve warm.

Notes:
*I found canape bread already sliced at the grocery store.  This is basically just a small loaf of bread about 2-3" across.
**I used a pouch of chicken that was 7 oz, figuring it was probably equal to 10 oz since you don't have to drain it?  You can also use 1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken.
***I left off the cilantro because I didn't have any on hand.

What is your favorite holiday party food?  Let me know if you give these a try!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

It was pure torture to wait long enough to take a picture of this cupcake before biting into it!  Pumpkin cupcakes are one of our favorite fall treats.  The cream cheese frosting on top is amazing.  I'm actually not a big fan of pumpkin pie or fall spiced treats, but this only has cinnamon in it and tastes light and cakey.  I even baked my own pumpkins for the first time ever and used the puree for these!


Pumpkin Cupcakes (makes 24)

1 cup oil (I used olive oil.  You could probably try melted butter or coconut oil as well.)
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin
4 eggs
Cream together.

2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
Add to creamed mixture and stir well.  Scoop into 24 full muffin cups and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Frost when cool.

8 oz cream cheese
1 stick butter (let both soften)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Mix well and frost cupcakes.

I usually make the frosting and store it in the refrigerator, frosting the cupcakes as we are ready to eat them.  These can also be made into pumpkin bars by pouring the batter into a large baking pan and cooking it that way - sort of like a large sheet cake.  Yum!

Monday, November 21, 2011

My Recipe Book

My recipe book has evolved over the years.  It started out as a box.  There were index cards crammed in there of all shapes and sizes.  Cards that people gave me and recipes I wanted to try, along with of course our family favorites.  Meal planning was difficult: picture dozens of cards scattered all over my table.  Then there were all of the recipes I was printing off the internet that just weren't index card size.

I moved up to a three ring binder and page protectors.  With different categories (breads, dinners, soups, etc), I would slip recipes in the page protectors under the correct section.  That too soon became overcrowded, so I set out to get things under control.

One weekend I typed all of my recipes into the computer.  I selected only recipes that we had tried and I knew my family enjoyed.  I typed each recipe in the same format, in a way that is easy for me to read and follow as I am cooking.  (Like this recipe where I list ingredients and instructions for those ingredients, and under that more ingredients and instructions for those, instead of all the ingredients at the top.)  I got the idea from the book Simply In Season, and love having my recipes typed that way.



I still have categories (breads, breakfasts, side dishes, soups and sandwiches, dinners, and desserts).  Recipes that I want to try go in a pocket in the front.  If we try them and like them, I type them into the recipe book and print out that page to add.  Sometimes I will try recipes a couple times or tweak them a bit before I type them in.  I've also gone through and purged my book of "junky recipes" a couple times.  The recipes in my book are healthy foods that I feel good about serving my family.  

I love having my recipes all neatly typed up!  My book is simple to use.  Meal planning is much easier when I can flip through our tried and true favorites and then select one or two new recipes from the front pocket.  Having everything on the computer allows me to easily print off a recipe for a friend or email it.  I also plan to print off copies of our family recipe book for all of my children when they are old enough.  Its fun to add to my book and watch it grow - that finally perfected salsa recipe, the whole wheat crackers that turned out well, and so on.

What does your recipe book look like?  Does it need an overhaul?


linked to Kitchen Tip Tuesday