Meal Planning... Or Not?

It's no secret. I have a thing for cookbooks. I enjoy reading them just as much as a good book. That being said, I've kept it under control and only try to keep on hand those books I use over and over (I have about 35, the rest I've donated over time). But still, the recipes I love to make often get lost within the pages of a cookbook if I don't flip through it during my weekly/nightly planning about what to serve for dinner.

Can you relate? You too probably have oodles of cookbooks, recipes torn out from magazines, random recipes pinned on Pinterest (sidenote, I do not have a board for recipes on Pinterest for this exact reason... the recipes would get lost).

Ok, well here at the Evans household we do not eat the same thing over and over (we get bored) and rather unfortunately, I am not the type of person to always plan ahead and do a big shop once a week. More or less, I pop in at the grocery store a few times a week, buy the fresh ingredients I need and do a "big shop" at Costco once a month or so.

So this is the part that counts... :)

I needed a way to organize my recipes so I could peruse our go-to recipes quickly and easily. Currently, they were scattered throughout my oodles of cookbooks.

Here's what I did. Maybe you should do it too? :)

I already have a binder with plastic sheet protectors to organize the random recipe printouts/clippings. I think I got it at Target!

So, here's the genius idea (haha), print out a variety of papers with the headings of the types of meals you like to eat (scroll down to see mine), add blank lines, empty out the entire contents of your cookbook storage area, go through each cookbook page-by-page and write down the recipes you've ACTUALLY made and liked!

Trust me, it's worth the time and you'll thank me later! :)

Categories:
Tex Mex
Grilling
Breakfast for Dinner
Salads for Dinner
Miscellaneous
Slow Cooker
Soup
Pasta/Italian
Pizza
Appetizers
Go To Desserts
Sandwiches
Special Occasion Ideas