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How Do You Keep Up With Recipes--- Sorta OT

Over the past few years, I have been overwhelmed with great egg recipes. Some I make up and some I graciously "borrow". The problem is, I never write down what I do, and I rarely measure ingredients. I cook more on feel. That said, curious how most keep up with recipes. I know some blog which could be my solution. Do others just flag recipes on the forum (and risk them being erased like Hapster's), have recipe notebooks, create a word document, keep everything in their head, surf the internet every time they cook, have a grease covered/smoke smelling "black book" that follows you from prep work in the kitchen to hanging with the egg, etc?

I need to start saving recipes so I can repeat my success, but would like to do it in an organized way. I would appreciate the input.

Columbia, SC --- LBGE 2011 -- MINI BGE 2013
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Comments

  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414
    phone app. Called "My Cookbook" on droid. I can copy and paste text or the url from a website and it saves it under whatever I title it. Allows me to add notes as well. I also bookmark on the forum and have saved stuff from sites like Cooked Illustrated. For the ones I use the most, I put in my phone. I mostly use the recipes as shopping lists, I can typically remember everything off the top of my head.
  • I use Evernote, similar to Eggcelsiors solution, but allows me to add keywords so I can sort by ingredients very easily.  I dont keep up with it as much as I would like so in the meantime I do have a lot of links bookmarked and/or flagged. 
    Large BGE Middletown, MD
  • I'm the save a bookmark and copy to a word document and save it on my hard drive.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Welcome to the Swamp.....GO GATORS!!!!
  • Chubbs
    Chubbs Posts: 6,929
    Forgot to mention, I would like to share this "method" with friends and family....
    Columbia, SC --- LBGE 2011 -- MINI BGE 2013
  • six_egg
    six_egg Posts: 1,110
    I have just started trying a digital Big Grren Egg cook book. I use blogs, forums and some of my own. I do a copy patse to word or Power Point. If I can print it, I print then scan it to a PDF. I then store the PDf in the cookbook. I have catagories also. Basically it is a  folder with sub folders in it. I hope this helps.

    XLBGE, LBGE 

    Fernandina Beach, FL

  • Chubbs
    Chubbs Posts: 6,929
    six_egg said:
    I have just started trying a digital Big Grren Egg cook book. I use blogs, forums and some of my own. I do a copy patse to word or Power Point. If I can print it, I print then scan it to a PDF. I then store the PDf in the cookbook. I have catagories also. Basically it is a  folder with sub folders in it. I hope this helps.
    This is kind of what I am thinking. I would like to incorporate pics of the cooks for reference as well.
    Columbia, SC --- LBGE 2011 -- MINI BGE 2013
  • Nice thing I didnt mention about Evernote is you can add pictures, notes, and once you have an account you can access from any computer, so if you wanted to share with friends you could give them your userid info and they could look through your recipes.
    Large BGE Middletown, MD
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,674
    black book at home, binder at camp. the black book is handwritten with some finished recipes that i work on from time to time and is stuffed with copied recipes that are fully marked up in pencil because i cant follow a recipe as written by someone else. sounds like i have a system, but theres really no system, my recipes change at whim because i saw a bottle of allspice or maybe the zatar seasoning etc or just a lack of ingrediants, i can tell you right now what i have for food in the house, can of tomatoes, can of paste, 2 cans hatch chilis, 1 can enchalada sauce, 2 3 ounce cans pastene tunno, half a box of thick spagetti, and a quart of very sour milk.... looks like hatch chili enchalada soup tonight
    :))
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • billyray
    billyray Posts: 1,275
    Several ways, first in my recipe box on foodnetwork.com, then I print eveything in there and have a large binder by topic. I bookmark things on this forum. For cookbooks I made an excel spread sheet, that lists the book title, the recipe by type (beef, pork, poultry etc.) and the page number. This makes it easy when I can't remember where I saw that great rib recipe!
    Felton, Ca. 2-LBGE, 1-Small, PBC, PK360, Genesis Summit, Camp Chef Flattop, Smokefire 24, Traeger Pro Series 22 Pellet with a Smoke Daddy insert, Gateway 55 Gal. drum, SNS Kettle w/acc.
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,173
    I'm with DaveinFlorida pretty much-have a folder on my hard drive where I place the word document after copying the recipe.  Have sub-folders for those cooks that have many different recipes/approaches-wings, brisket, chix, pork etc.  Keep misc BGE lessons learned there as well.  Simple so I can keep up.
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • dlk7
    dlk7 Posts: 1,053
    I copy and paste into both my work and personal email boxes with the recipe name in the subject line.  Allows pictures and you can search by key words through the email app.

    Two XL BGEs - So Happy!!!!

    Waunakee, WI

  • Chubbs
    Chubbs Posts: 6,929
    black book at home, binder at camp. the black book is handwritten with some finished recipes that i work on from time to time and is stuffed with copied recipes that are fully marked up in pencil because i cant follow a recipe as written by someone else. sounds like i have a system, but theres really no system, my recipes change at whim because i saw a bottle of allspice or maybe the zatar seasoning etc or just a lack of ingrediants, i can tell you right now what i have for food in the house, can of tomatoes, can of paste, 2 cans hatch chilis, 1 can enchalada sauce, 2 3 ounce cans pastene tunno, half a box of thick spagetti, and a quart of very sour milk.... looks like hatch chili enchalada soup tonight
    :))
    Nice,  like your style. That has been my method for so long too. I like to think I have a great memory, but still want to simplify. We entertain a lot and people constantly ask for recipes and I cant ever provide them. So, I am looking for something electronic so I can make updates, upload photos, view wherever I am, etc.
    Columbia, SC --- LBGE 2011 -- MINI BGE 2013
  • Chubbs
    Chubbs Posts: 6,929
    Nice thing I didnt mention about Evernote is you can add pictures, notes, and once you have an account you can access from any computer, so if you wanted to share with friends you could give them your userid info and they could look through your recipes.
    Is there a version compatible with Apple products and Windows? Or, do you have to decide which??
    Columbia, SC --- LBGE 2011 -- MINI BGE 2013
  • I
    Chubbs said:
    Nice thing I didnt mention about Evernote is you can add pictures, notes, and once you have an account you can access from any computer, so if you wanted to share with friends you could give them your userid info and they could look through your recipes.
    Is there a version compatible with Apple products and Windows? Or, do you have to decide which??
    I have the App on my ipad but access it on web from a standard PC.  It is very easy to use.
    Large BGE Middletown, MD
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    I do have about a hundred recipe and food blogs bookmarked.

    But I started "clipping" interesting recipes from the net about 15 years ago, when the dial-up connection could be painfully slow. I saved them as plain text documents that can be read by any text editor or word processor.  I've been using Macs and a text editor called BBedit. It can search thru multiple directories and files , and generate a clickable list of every line which contains a search term.

    I'd like to eventually get a digital reader, like a Kindle, and transfer the collection to that, so I could have something on the counter while cooking other than a print out sheet.


  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,674
    Chubbs said:
    black book at home, binder at camp. the black book is handwritten with some finished recipes that i work on from time to time and is stuffed with copied recipes that are fully marked up in pencil because i cant follow a recipe as written by someone else. sounds like i have a system, but theres really no system, my recipes change at whim because i saw a bottle of allspice or maybe the zatar seasoning etc or just a lack of ingrediants, i can tell you right now what i have for food in the house, can of tomatoes, can of paste, 2 cans hatch chilis, 1 can enchalada sauce, 2 3 ounce cans pastene tunno, half a box of thick spagetti, and a quart of very sour milk.... looks like hatch chili enchalada soup tonight
    :))
    Nice,  like your style. That has been my method for so long too. I like to think I have a great memory, but still want to simplify. We entertain a lot and people constantly ask for recipes and I cant ever provide them. So, I am looking for something electronic so I can make updates, upload photos, view wherever I am, etc.
    this is my other recipe method
    :D sausage ball soup, from here i can make it easy enough
    :))

    image

    image
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • jlsm
    jlsm Posts: 1,011
    edited February 2013
    My collection is pretty much digital in Word. If I see a recipe I like in print, I get the digital version. My folders are divided in pretty typical ways, though I have a separate one for BBQ and vegetarian mains. I don't use pics. If I change a recipe, I note it. If I make one up, I add it. I have a laptop in the kitchen, so everything is almost automatic. I've added many recipes from this forum to the BBQ. 

    I also use Dropbox, so the files are available on any computer with an Internet connection, my phone and my iPad. I have many times decided at the last minute while shopping to makes something, and checking the recipe for missing ingredients is easy.

    One nice touch is that I can sort by date, easily finding recipes that I added recently and want to try. 
    *******
    Owner of a large and a beloved mini in Philadelphia
  • MikeP624
    MikeP624 Posts: 292
    I go with the old school methods.  Hardcopies.  I just print them and keep them in a binder.  I like having a hardcopy of the recipe while cooking.  That way i can easily write down modification and notes.  Plus i am always nervous about having my phone, laptop or Ipad close to where i am cooking.  I am afraid i will dump something on it.
  • yzzi
    yzzi Posts: 1,843
    I use my google drive account and store them there. I can get it on phone/tablet/computer and even have it offline, ready wherever I need it (usually at the super market getting ingredients). Also love it cause I can edit my changes easily or add notes for next time. And then when someone says "Can you send me that recipe." I just "share" it with them.
    Dunedin, FL
  • r270ba
    r270ba Posts: 763
    Man I cannot believe Paprika has not been mentioned...I absolutely love it!!!  The only downside is there is no Windows app.  iPhone, iPad, Android, and Mac.  If this fits your 'world' then it is the best out there in my opinion.  Built in browser for recipe 'clipping' is the bomb.  If it recognizes the food site (and it recognizes a ton of sites!) then it is one click and the recipe is downloaded.  If not then it is about 5 clicks to create the recipe (absolutely not typing at all).  Everything is the synced to all your devices and you can share to pretty much anyone anyway you want.

    Definitely the best I have used (and trust me I buy all the new apps that come out and still go back to this one).

    Anderson, SC
    XL BGE, Father's Day Gift 2012 (Thanks Fam!!!)
    Webber Kettle and Webber Summit Gasser
    Want List: Thermapen, Small BGE, Wok, Adjustable Rig, Food Saver, More $

  • BakerMan
    BakerMan Posts: 159

    I use a Microsoft application called OneNote.  It's like an electronic spiral notebook.  It is fully indexed and searchable (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/onenote/ ).    I store the OneNote notebooks on my SkyDrive (free).  My OneNote notebooks sync to three computers, two tablets and my phone.  I can read/edit from anywhere including the cloud via web browser.  You can also share OneNote stored in the cloud (SkyDrive) with other people.

    While I'm cooking I look up info on my phone or make recipes notes and add photos.

    BakerMan - Purcellville, VA "When its smokin' its cookin', when its black its done"
  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,727
    Nice thing I didnt mention about Evernote is you can add pictures, notes, and once you have an account you can access from any computer, so if you wanted to share with friends you could give them your userid info and they could look through your recipes.
    +1 for Evernote. I use it for a number of things, and recently started using it for recipes. I can clip stuff from websites, take pictures of recipes out of books, annotate the recipes as I try them, access them from anywhere (phone, computer, friend's computer), and so on. Its worked very well so far.

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
  • I recently have started printing and using a 3 ring binder. I keep a lot of stuff in the notes section on my phone, but I want to have hard copies of my favs in case we have a digital apocolypse!
  • 500
    500 Posts: 3,177
    edited February 2013
    I am using Pinterest, primarily.  It's basically a bookmarking page with pictures, but at least I can break them down to separate folders based on catagories like Food, Drinks, Egging, etc.  It's easy enough to copy and create a new Pin, even if the site doesn't have the Pinterest icon ability to save directly to your account.  I have a number of recipes on FoodNetwork.com as well, plus binders, cookbooks, and things saved here.  I have a Word document with drink recipes I've found or developed, and a Excel spreadsheet with Egging techniques as well (time, temp, setup, lessons learned).  I keep those copied in my Dropbox account.  So, I'm all over the place.
    I like my butt rubbed and my pork pulled.
    Member since 2009
  • jlsm
    jlsm Posts: 1,011
    The problem with using apps like Pinterest and Evernote is what happens if they go away? Remember the 5.5-inch floppy disks? Zip drives? If someone buys Evernote and decides to shut it down, you're in trouble.  
    *******
    Owner of a large and a beloved mini in Philadelphia
  • I am slowly working toward using Evernote, but I use a program for Mac called Notebook...It is published by a company called Circus Ponies and I think it is available at the Mac App Store.  Notebook is very flexible and allows for clipping from the web, documents, email, ect.  I have a few hundred pages in my cooking notebook with recipes, grill/smoker mods, ideas, cook logs, and other items.  The only function that Evernote has that Notebook does not is cloud based sync as Notebook is a local file only platform.
    Love smoking chicken...but they are hard to keep lit ;-) http://daveyrayland.wordpress.com/ Small Egg / Weber OTG 22" / CharGriller Trio / Masterbuilt 30" Electric
  • jlsm said:
    The problem with using apps like Pinterest and Evernote is what happens if they go away? Remember the 5.5-inch floppy disks? Zip drives? If someone buys Evernote and decides to shut it down, you're in trouble.  

    True, but you can print each note and have a hard copy backup and/or copy paste text to a word document.  The general point is very easy to search and sort, rather than having to go through a bunch of folders on your PC, and as stated previously easy to access from your computer or phone or friends computer, very portable.
    Large BGE Middletown, MD
  • GrannyX4
    GrannyX4 Posts: 1,491
    I use Living Cookbook. Windows only. Love it. I have so many recipes that I am able to print cookbooks that I give out as Christmas gifts. The 2012 edition had 80 recipes and was quite a production for over 30 friends and family. ;;)
    Every day is a bonus day and every meal is a banquet in Winter Springs, Fl !
  • pwg56
    pwg56 Posts: 93
    500 said:
    I am using Pinterest, primarily.  It's basically a bookmarking page with pictures, but at least I can break them down to separate folders based on catagories like Food, Drinks, Egging, etc.  It's easy enough to copy and create a new Pin, even if the site doesn't have the Pinterest icon ability to save directly to your account.  I have a number of recipes on FoodNetwork.com as well, plus binders, cookbooks, and things saved here.  I have a Word document with drink recipes I've found or developed, and a Excel spreadsheet with Egging techniques as well (time, temp, setup, lessons learned).  I keep those copied in my Dropbox account.  So, I'm all over the place.
    This sounds like me.  Care to share your pinterest info so I can follow you?
  • jlsm
    jlsm Posts: 1,011
    @GrannyX4, that is fantastic. I would love to do a cookbook, but the work seems daunting. 
    *******
    Owner of a large and a beloved mini in Philadelphia