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Make Your Own Recipe Book (Great Wedding Shower, Wedding, or New Baby Gift Idea)

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I don’t really like recipe books very much anymore because they’re just not as interactive as the web (less photos, no reviews), but I do like to keep recipes I’ve used and like on hand and off line. I usually find recipes to try on allrecipes.com or off Pinterest, follow them via the website, then print them if we like them.

In order to organize all of my favorite recipes, I keep recipes that I’ve made and enjoyed in this recipe book on the left. It’s a 3 ring binder, made especially for recipes, and it’s got some special pages you put inside that holds two recipe cards each. Also, if you take photos of your food it will also hold a 4×6 photo. I love having my recipes organized like this. I always know where to find the recipes, and if I type them then I can read the writing. I also was able to put older recipes that were passed down to me in there. On the backs or margins of the recipe cards, I might write little notes about substitutes or alternative ways to good a recipe. I usually get these tips on the allrecipes.com reviews or on blog post comments… people will usually go into vivid detail as to how they made the recipe differently. It’s really interesting. I love reviews. Occasionally I do my own substitutes, often due to pure desperation… ie. I forgot to put something on the grocery list and the food is half cooked. I do a lot of internet searches to find what items can substitute for what!

Allrecipes.com allows me to print the recipes in recipe card format so for my recipe book I print them as 4×6″ recipe card, then I cut them out and glue them onto my blank recipe cards. I could probably print them directly on, but I have a feeling I’d kill a few trees trying to print them in the correct direction so I haven’t bothered.

For Pinterest recipes where the blog post doesn’t allow printing the recipe as a recipe card, I found this recipe card maker free.

Here’s a couple views of my recipe book… I don’t print pictures of my food anymore really, seeing I document things pretty well via my blog posts, but these are a couple of recipes that I made pre-blogging:

Below left: a blank page and a blank recipe card; on the right, I glued some clippings from a magazine about pairing wines, setting the table, and food presentation to the inside of the recipe book cover.

You can find blank recipe books on Amazon.com such as these, as well as their coordinating blank pages and recipes cards (so many more choices than if you buy in store!):



These would make such great gifts as well, especially if you include a few of your favorite recipes. How about making one of these for a bridal shower and having each guest bring a favorite recipe to share? Or, if you do a Meal Train for a family who has just had a baby, you could have everyone who participates (brings the family a dish) also write the recipe on a recipe card to put in the book for the family to keep… what a great gift idea for a mom and dad who will be cooking for a family now! I have a recipe for homemade PlayDoh in my recipe book.

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