What’s On My Cookbook Stack

13 Comments

1. 

   hazel Says

   Today, a bit of a cook-in as tomorrow the weather will be foul and I want to stay inside. Just prepared, fennel risotto (which I wolfed down) and bolognese sauce. Tomorrow, as I have lots of interesting vegetables, a huge ratatouille. Have to feed the freezer!

   1. 

      b r Says

      Post author

      Sounds delicious Hazel!

2. 

   Denise Says

   Becky: How the heck do you go through 20+ cookbooks in “a couple of minutes” to plan out next weeks menu??
   It would take me at least 2, or more like 20 hours to complete this task!
   I would so love your suggestions and input. Thank you.

   1. 

      b r Says

      Post author

      I don’t! These are the cookbooks I’m currently using – I have them at the ready for recipes I’m already using or have used. I start with a framework for recipes – like Monday is busy so let’s do something in the crockpot, Tuesday we will be home for dinner, let’s do enchiladas, Wednesday I’ll make a big dinner salad and clean out the fridge, etc. Once I have a basic idea I look in my cookbooks – I’m not just looking for something without an idea of what I’m looking for (that would take me hours too). In the back of my Menu Planner I also have a ‘family favorites’ page – I use that for ideas too! I never re-invent the wheel, I go with what works! I hope that helps 🙂

      1. 

         Margaret Says

         A good way to keep on top of this (viewing it as a task) is to include cookbooks in your (pleasure) reading pile, tabbing the recipes that interest you. This is also a good way to weed through a collection that has grown too large for available space. You can copy the few recipes you may mark and then sell or donate the book.

   2. 

      GreenDoor Says

      I have a lot of cookbooks too. I plan a month of meals at once and find it helpful to use themes. So sometimes my themes are my cookbooks – Americas Test Kitchen Slow Cooker on Mondays, Pioneer Woman on Tuesdays, a church cookbook on Wednesday, and so on. This gives me a good opportunity to get actually use my cookbooks, try new recipes, and sometimes determine that I actually don’t like anything much in a particular book and can get rid of it. No point in spenidng money on cookbooks if you never actually make use of them.

      1. 

         Rebecca Says

         That is a great idea (greendoor)! These meals based on your cookbooks. I have a collection I love, but I do feel like I don’t use them as much as I could. I also would LOVE a list and links to the cookbooks currently on your shelf (I can’t see some of them clearly in the picture).

      2. 

         Anu Says

         😀That’s a really neat idea to go through the different cookbooks! Thanks, going to try that!

      3. 

         Candis Says

         I also plan a month at a time, and have many cookbooks, but I have never tried planning our meals using cookbook themes. I love this idea, and I cannot wait to try it. Thank you for sharing.

3. 

   Rebecca Says

   Ah! Found the list of books below the picture! It didn’t display on my phone 😉

4. 

   Lauren@SimplyLKJ Says

   I love the idea of bookcases around the fridge. It’s always such wasted space! You meal plan very similar to me. Such a time and money saver.

5. 

   Trudy Says

   In the back of my cookbooks on those empty pages I write the name and page number of my go to recipes for that book. I’ll also take a few minutes and type it in my word doc under it’s category (chicken, beef, etc).

   1. 

      Clean Mama Says

      Post author

      Love this!