Updated Sep. 22, 2019.  Originally published Jan. 29, 2013.

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Frequently-Used/Family Favorite Recipes

We’re going to look at organizing recipes in two segments because most of us really have two separate categories of recipes: our frequently-used recipes (tried and true, family favorites), and our general recipe collection (new recipes we might want to try).  Depending on how you work, these may need to be accessed — or at least processed — differently from one another.

Today we’re talking about our family favorites.  These are your tried-and-true recipes, the ones you know you can make, you know your family likes, that meet the needs of any dietary restrictions in your family, etc.  In other words, you can cook and eat any of these recipes, and if you cooked only these recipes, you’d be all right (even though that might not be your preference).  Another way to put it might be that these are the recipes that you know work for you and your family.

Because these are the recipes you use most frequently, you want them to be readily accessible.  You need to be able to find them quickly, they need to be close to where you cook, and ideally they will not be buried amongst other recipes that might or might not work for you.

STEP 1: Decide what recipe format works best for you for everyday use.

For me, these recipes cannot be (just) digital.  I don’t have a computer in the kitchen, and I don’t have a mobile device that would work well for this.  I also am just a paper kind of girl — I like being able to jot notes to myself on things (if I scale a recipe, for instance).  So I need my regular recipes on paper.

My personal preference for my tried-and-true recipes is a 3-ring binder with page protectors in it and full-size printouts of my recipes.  The page protectors allow me to wipe off any splatters, and to remove and use individual pages as I need to.  (I hold them up with a Recipe Rock.)  Binders can be a little bulky.

I actually have moved to using a couple smaller binders, divided by category: one for main dishes, one for sides, one for desserts & breakfasts, etc.  I don’t use a separate one for every category, but breaking it down a bit keeps me from having to lug around a huge 3″ binder like I was before!

Definitely keep user-friendliness in mind.  They now make binders that will fold flat — you can wrap the front flap around behind the back like you would with a spiral notebook — which would save room on the counter while you’re using it.

I like to use these dividers with pockets, so that if I’ve printed out another recipe but haven’t had a chance to get it fully into its place yet, I can at least stick it in the pocket for the right section.  (They’re also plastic, so they wipe off — always a good thing in the kitchen!)

STEP 2: If you need supplies to get this set up, add them to your shopping list.

Once you have the necessary supplies, you’ll be getting these into the format you settled on.  But wait until after we take a look at your other recipes, in case that examination prompts you to tweak the setup you chose.

Other Recipes

Remember, we’re only addressing the tried-and-true recipes right now.  I’m sure you have a good number of other recipes that haven’t made it onto the “tested” list, and we’ll get to those next week.

If you’re just stumbling across this, please click here for the other posts in the series.