Recipe binder

One of my goals this year, as I was staying at home, was to cook more. I actually look forward to planning and cooking while Brendan watches the baby, it has become an escape for me : ). As I was looking for new recipes, my organized brain (Brendan says anal, whatever!) needed to get my old recipes in order. So with some cute scrapbook paper, page protectors (including index card ones) and dividers I now have a family recipe binder. It makes me smile when I pull it out.

This is the cover. The first page in the binder is a list of meal ideas that are staples in our home that I may or may not have a recipe for. So if I am stuck with what to cook I can just take a peek at the list...oh, lets make tortellini bake.

Each divider has scrapbook paper...my dividers are salads/soups/appetizers, main dishes, muffins/breads, desserts and recipes to try. I love the last one because I just stick a recipe that sounds interesting there and when I actually cook it, if its good, I move it to another section.