I am an organizing wanna be. But one thing I am terrible at is dinner. I don't like to cook, it is necessary however and when I get tired of it we eat out. This is becoming a particularly large problem (for my waist line as well as our bank account) since we moved to Chicago. I pretty much had to start my pantry over from scratch, so even my normal "go to" meals haven't been an option. Panera (a FABULOUS restaurant) calls my name on a regular basis, and in Chi-town? Hello? Pizza anyone? Geesh. So I decided I need to get serious, get organized and do it soon before we were broke and fat(ter).
Over at NannyGoat (a cool blog I follow) is a very cool idea that I decided to try.
I've switched it up a bit to work for me, but overall I like what is coming out of it.
So I did find 30 recipes that my family loves (or at least Shawn and I do, the kids will just have to deal on about half of them), and then I found free templates over at HP .
I'm not much for using a binder, so I decided to use a small photo album. After I copied and printed all my recipes onto 4X6 photo paper I wrote on the back what to serve as a side dish and veggie. Now all I have to do is pull the 7 for the week that sound good, check the pantry (that is slowly getting full) and make my list and shop. Menu is done for the week without any effort, list is easy to put together, and I don't have to think about what I'm going to make when it is already 5pm and everyone is already getting hungry.
FRONT: (ok, I know, this is obvious)
BACK:
I'm thinking I will hole punch them and put a ring through the corners for the recipe's of the week. Then just keep them on my bulletin board. I love the fridge holder option, but my refrigerator doesn't hold up magnets, so I have to think of something else.
Anyone have any other ideas?
Thanks for looking!
Posts
3 comments:
A thought ... take you ingredients list. Since you already typed them up and put them multiple on a page in word. print them up so you have about 6 little cards with the recipe name and the ingredients.put them in a small envelope you can attach to the back of the recipe. When in a rush you can grab the little card out of the pocket on the back of the recipe and take it with you to the store to shop from. I tried master cook and hated it because I had to input all my favorite recipes. but it is easy to for creating shopping lists.
I am a fan of kraftfoods.com. You can find all sorts of recipes, and automatically add the ingredients to a shopping list. I don't use it all the time, tho. I like what you're doing. It's pretty and organized. I also like to put a plastic sheet protector on the cupboard door next to the stove and put the recipes I'm using in there. Then, they're visible from my work space and don't take any counter space.
Oh, I like your idea Patty. I'll have to try that cuz my cards are getting really messy! I'm not as organized as Heidi - have NO idea where that comes from - not her dad or me! Had a friend make up a 30 day meal planner for me and it's still in the folder. I need to go through it and make a shopping list...... I hate cooking! Wish my girls would take pitty on us and feed us more often!
Chris, your idea sounds great too but then I'd have to get creative with the computer.... crochet is more my bag! hehee
Post a Comment