Tip #7: When needing to prepare a speedy meal for your family you don't want to waste time looking for a recipe. Here are a few tips for finding those recipes.
In today's electronic world, we pin recipes or share on Facebook so they stay on our page. I even use my phone or ipad to take pictures of recipes that look good. Before Pintrest, Facebook or Camera phones, I would clip or copy recipes I wanted to try. I have folders of great sounding recipes waiting to be tried and another of ones we liked. I also love cook books and have a small bookcase full of cook books.
Something that I find frustrating is deciding what you want to fix for dinner, but you can not remember the exact recipe and spend precious time looking for the recipe. After several trips through the folder, there it just magically appears. Here are a few solutions that I have come up with to help me without spending hours on a filing system.
My first is easy as I found a hit recipe that the family all agreed was good, I would add it to my list on the inside of my cabinet door. The list included the cookbook the recipe was in and the page number. I also often added a note about non-staple ingredients that I would need to have to make it.
Sometimes I create recipes. I start with sticky notes and tweak on the recipe until we like it. Then I write it in a recipe book that I was given when we got married.
Recently I have begun using my computer to help me organized recipes. I have a folder called My Family Favorites and it has sub-folders similar to the sections of a cookbook. As we find recipes that everyone likes, I type them and store them in the folder.
On Pintrest I have recipes divided into categories, but as we decide a recipe is a winner, I move it to my family favorites folder. The pictures of recipes are a little harder to deal with, but I have created an album to store them in too.
To make this even more helpful. Keep a list of ingredients you need to have on hand to make your favorites, so you can pick them up when they are on sale and be ready when the mood for that dish strikes you.
During slower times of the year, I made it a goal to try a new recipe each week. This helped break up the monotony and helped me enjoy cooking more.
Here is my experiment from yesterday. Everyone enjoyed it and said they would eat it again. This doesn't happen often.
I baked a whole spaghetti squash for about an hour at 350 degrees. Let it cool for 30 minutes. Then cut it in half, took out the seeds and center strands. Using a fork and spoon shredded the rest into a large skillet. Added a small amount of olive oil and 1/4 cup margarine. I sauteed the squash with some dried basil and crush red chili pepper (the amount is based on how large a squash you use) for about 5 minutes. Then I sprinkled on Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Actual prep time was minimal.
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