If you are like me, you may have collected a truckload of recipe clippings and printings from magazines and the internet, which have taken over every available space in your cookbook collection, making it completely overwhelming to answer the age-old question, "What's for dinner?" Sometimes the answer is just complicated by TOO MANY CHOICES!
So I have this binder now, navy blue, nothing fancy. It's not pretty and collated with matching fonts inside. It's really quite random, which goes along nicely with our family's food tastes. My husband and I have a seven year old son and five year old daughter who despite my best efforts are the pickiest creatures on the planet with neanderthal table-manners.
Anyway, I've divided my binder into 7 categories: appetizers, breakfast items, salads, soups and bread, sides, main dishes, and desserts. I still have a couple of favorite cookbooks I consult, like "Love Soup" by Anna Thomas and Cook's Illustrated "The Best Make-Ahead Recipe", but on a weekly basis, I only have to open this binder to find a collection of "tried and true" recipes that I know our family will eat. My only criteria for a recipe to "make the cut" was ease of preparation. Sure, I CAN cook a five-star, gourmet-style meal, but I'm a busy mom! I'm always impressed with my mom friends who buck the trend of fast-food and restaurant eating and choose to cook at home. I don't judge what you fix!
I encourage you to take the time to create your own binder, unique to your own family's taste. And if you have children, what a great gift it will be to reproduce and send with them into the real world when they leave home for college and/or career!
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