Build a recipe system from scratch.
Cooking for the holidays may be a big task, but finding recipe ideas doesn’t have to be. Create your own organizational system with these ideas for collecting and organizing your culinary inspirations.

• Recipe Binder: Get Your Recipes Ready and use a handy three-ring binder system with section separators to keep track of tasty treats. Store loose printouts, magazine articles, and recipe cards you want to try in plastic page protectors. Once you’ve tried a recipe, place it on a separate page where you can make notes and include pictures of the dish.
• Perfectly Proportioned: It’s important to choose a recipe box big enough to hold a growing collection of recipes. Create your own box using a large tin or simply use a medium-sized accordion folder. The expandable folder can accommodate your accumulating assortment and can hold items of different sizes. Use the built-in tabs to separate your recipes any way you choose, such as by type, course or occasion.

Enhance your existing system.

• Recipe Index: Make referencing recipes from your cookbooks and magazines easier by creating a simple index system. Think of it as your very own cookbook card catalogue, and set up the basic system like this:

• If you have a recipe from a book or magazine that’s a family favourite or come across a recipe you would love to try, create a recipe index card so you can find it easily in the future.
• On your card, record the recipe name, book or magazine name it came from and the page number.
• You can also add any other details you want to remember—like occasions it would be good for—on the recipe index card.
• Use cards that will fit in your existing recipe box and keep the box close-at-hand in the kitchen.

• Rating System: Keep track of tasty favourites with your own rating system—such as a scale of 1 to 5—to help you decide for future dining. When you try a recipe, make personal notes about changes you made, cost, time or good occasions to use it. You can also create a referral system and note other dishes that make good accompaniments. If the recipe didn’t work as well as you hoped, take notes on how to improve it for future attempts or just toss it. Simply add these notes to your recipe index cards.
• Colour Code: Never lose track of a recipe again by using a colour code that works for you. Choose different colours for recipe types—main dish, side dish, and desserts—or just for recipes you’ve tried and ones you want to try. Use clips or book tabs that match your colour code to mark pages in your cookbooks or magazines. Take an extra step and create recipe index cards for each of the dishes to make it even easier to find recipes in the future and you’ll be doubly organized! Note the colour on the recipe index cards or use cards in a corresponding colour.
• Cookbook Nook: Create a nook and keep cookbooks or magazines in the kitchen so recipes will be easy to access once you’ve indexed them. Only keep cookbooks you use regularly on hand in the kitchen. Sentimental cookbooks that were given as gifts or are family mementoes should be kept in a separate spot where they won’t take up precious kitchen space, but are still available for reminiscing.

Tip: Try adding shelving over your most used counters or add bookends on top of your refrigerator for an out-of-the way, but close-at-hand storage solution. Pass along any unused cookbooks to a new cook, or donate them to your local library or charity.

• Downloadable Menu Planner: Plan your meals and make your shopping list at the same time! With this downloadable menu planner, you can think about meals and ingredients before hitting the store. This will not only help you provide your family with balanced meals throughout the week, it can help you stay focused and discourage impulse buying.

This holiday, stay organized in the kitchen by making your recipe resources available and at your fingertips with these smart solutions.