Though I haven’t written about it, I am still entranced by food, recipes and my various organizational systems.
I have/had this elaborate set up for paper recipes – printing to cardstock in 4X6 format and keeping a main Pages doc for all of them. Google Docs contained all the new recipes copied and pasted from the internet in document names like “Main Dishes, Sides, Desserts, Appetizers, Soups, Dips/Dressings/Sauces…”
And then Pinterest came along…
Unless you live under a rock and never read food/home/lifestyle blogs, you probably know what Pinterest is and why it has completely changed the way I do recipes though I only just realized it the other day.
When I would make a recipe from Pinterest, I would delete it! Like a crazy person! For me, it has always been about getting rid of “stuff” (even digital stuff). But then if I forgot to move it over to my “paper” system…forget about ever finding it again. And if I did, it still took at least 10 minutes to see if this was the right recipe or not.
And also, there are recipes that I like and might make from time to time (or look at to modify) but they aren’t print out on dead trees amazing. But I’d never remember to keep in Google Docs (I’m delete happy.)
Then, OH MY GOSH! I could make a visual board of the recipes I’ve tried and it would answer many questions and keeping me accountable in my cooking.
1. Remembering that I am and actually trying new recipes (This is very important to me).
2. Finding a recipe that I tried but never moved over to “my” system.
3. Finding a recipe that I thought was “Eh” but I know a friend would LOVE.
4. Taking up space (even virtual space counts right now).
Now that I’ve made my “Recipes for 2012″ and “Food I’ve made” boards, I’m ready to even move my Google Docs over to it. (Though some recipes are missing pictures which is the whole point of Pinterest.)
I’ve been surprised at how much the visual has worked in my favor with looking at and remembering recipes I want to make and eat. (5. More pictures and color, less words.)
So here’s the recap (Pinterest also makes this crazy easy!):
Any Bean Dip from Whole Living: Good but makes WAY too much for me to eat even in two weeks. I’ll be halving next time and trying it again. I like it enough to keep it on the computer but not onto the print pile.
Peanut Butter Filling for Chocolate Cupcakes from Martha Stewart: I made this to put in chocolate cupcakes. I will be making this to eat straight from now on. This was mind blowingly easy. Why haven’t a made it sooner? It gets printed out on dead trees.
Chocolate Buttercream from Wilton: I made the regular one years ago but needed a new icing for the cupcakes mentioned above. I will not use shortening next time. I made a note next to my already printed buttercream recipe.
Refried Bean Enchiladas from Allrecipes.com: This sauce is easy quick and great. I will print out the sauce. Because the rest of it, beans, cheese and tortillas…I don’t need to print the recipe. I did love one commentators suggestion of adding cream cheese in the enchilada for more creaminess and surprisingly, so did my husband.
Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches from Taste of the South Magazine: I gave this recipe to my mother-in-law a few months ago. She and the extended family raved about it. I finally tried it this past Saturday and it is so simple and so good. This will go to the print out on dead trees pile.
Cinnamon Roll Cake from Chef in Training: I measured out all the dry ingredients and set out the butter to soften on Saturday night, whipping it together for Sunday morning breakfast. It was good but wasn’t as good as homemade cinnamon rolls. It just stays on Pinterest as a reference (when in a year I think this is a great idea and can’t remember that I made it already.)
The Best Sloppy Joe’s from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe: I mixed these up last week and put them in the freezer for a meal later in the month. It tasted great and was easy to make with everything I always keep on hand. So this recipe will also make it to the print out on dead trees.
This post is not visual but I’m hoping to make it visual the next few months. There are a few recipes that I want to try that *gasp* don’t have pictures out on the internet. But now, all my Google Doc recipes that came from the internet are on my boards and it looks like I have a lot of cooking to do this year! (YUM!)
If you want, follow me on Pinterest (on the upper right of the page) for these recipes (and the photos) and I’ll follow you back!
