Let me begin by warning you that this post is not about cookies. Unless you eat cookies for dinner. In which case, it can be about cookies.
Dinner is always a challenge, given my house of picky eaters combined with the fact that I like only a fraction of the new recipes I try. I have folders filled with un-tested recipes ripped from magazines, index cards sticking out of my recipe books, folded pages in cookbooks, and bookmarked sites on my computer. And so, I created: a dinner notebook. The requirements for making it into the dinner notebook are strict.
I hereby declare that in this dinner notebook I shall keep ONLY: - recipes for dinner (ie. no desserts, cocktails, snacks or breakfast)
- recipes that I have tested and approved (ie. no magazine pages that look interesting)
- recipes my husband and/or kid will eat (ie. nothing with onions or mushrooms)
how I made my dinner notebook
supplies:*
3-ring binder
"dinner" label for cover
4x6" photo pages for binders
index cards or photo paper/paper cutter
your recipes
*I got a 1" translucent binder like this from Staples for $2. I also found these photo pages at Staples, and made my own index cards by cutting good quality photo paper into 4x6" cards. You can also use these top loading page protectors and full sheets of paper if you like to take lots of notes on your recipes. As for the dinner label, you can use any size labels for your printer. I will attach a photo of my design at the end if you prefer. I used this size circle label found here, but you can use any. Even full-page labels cut to your desired size.
Recipes I included:
I've been making some of my dishes for ages, like my special breaded chicken (with flax seed!) and my uber-yummy mac n' cheese (with beer!). I don't need to follow recipes for these, but I still included them for consistency and convenience for making my grocery list. Some other favorites I included: this recipe for baked pasta with ricotta and this recipe for sausage and stuffing pastry, both of which I doctor a tad to suit our tastes, like taking out gross stuff and adding good stuff, like pureed carrots.
awesome idea. all of my blogs are sweet-oriented with 1 exception. i'm always on a shortage of healthy dinner ideas. i've recently bookmarked a bunch but i delete them if i don't make them that week. let me know if you have any good, easy ones for thinly sliced beef.
ReplyDeleteThat's adorable! And can you please share that mac & cheese with BEER?!? Pretty please?
ReplyDeleteWow, tha is a clever idea! thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteVery cute idea! I have stacks and stacks of magazine recipes I want to try but never get around to. Keeping a notebook with things the family WILL eat is a great idea. I should just throw the other recipes away since they have been sitting there for ages. My family probably wouldn't try them anyways...
ReplyDeleteIf anyone has beef dinner suggestion, I'll take them, too! For some reason, I've always been intimidated by cooking beef, but it'd be a great alternative.
ReplyDeleteBridget, I'll post tonight on my mac n' cheese recipe, so keep your eye out! thanks all!