I have been looking for a way to organize my recipes on my computer. I have a recipe box with index cards, but it seems like lately all the new recipes I have tried have come from blogs or allrecipes.com. My laptop is in my kitchen so I often just check the computer for a recipe.
So my latest find is Google Notebook. It is perfect for storing recipes! It is easy to use, can be accessed from anywhere (that you have computer access), and it is free! Here is what you do:
*From google.com, go to "more google products" and click on Notebook.
*click "Create a new notebook" called Recipes (or whatever you want to call it).
*click "new note" to add your recipe. You can enter text (from your recipe cards), or just cut and paste from a recipe online. Try highlighting the recipe, then click your RIGHT mouse button. There is an option that says "Note this (Google Notebook)" It just goes right into your google notebook from there. So cool!
*after your recipe is added, click on "label". These are your recipe dividers. The nice thing is that you can give it more than one label (something you can't do with index cards!) You decide what labels you want. For instance, if it was Chicken Enchiladas, I'd call it: chicken, mexican food, family meals. I am using the "family meals" label for dinners that I can put on my 90-day menu. You could call it anything you want.
You can also leave notes to yourself on each recipe in the "comment" field.
This has been so fun! I was able to transfer a bunch of recipes tonight that I had in a computer recipe program. It was very quick to do and I think it will be much easier to use. Another thought is that it will be so easy to pass the recipes on to my children. They can just access my google notebook and copy whatever they would like into their own google notebook!
Showing posts with label Daily Routine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daily Routine. Show all posts
Monday, December 15, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Flylady
I just had to share this website...http://flylady.com/
I'm on and off the wagon with this site but I love the ideas and tips I've learned from Flylady! She's helped me in countless ways because I tend to do things 110% or not at all. At some point in my life I hope to learn that it is possible to start a project, take a break and come back to it later when I have the time again. Until then I have Flylady to remind me that I can do anything in 15 minutes. You should try it, set a timer for 15 minutes and see how much you can actually accomplish. I bet you'll surprise yourself!
Friday, November 14, 2008
Condiment Graveyard?
I just got this in an email from savingdinner.com and thought it was good information to share, every now and then we need to go through our fridge and dejunk...
Old Condiment Syndrome
Ladies, are you suffering from OCS? Old Condiment Syndrome? You know what I’m talking about. Crusty ketchup bottles, icky, old Ranch dressing and ancient mustard?
We all have a lot of condiments, don’t we? Listen, I know what you have lurking in your refrigerator doors. Fossilized condiments! And more than a busy hotdog stand in New York City needs, too!
Did you know the refrigerated shelf life for mayonnaise is two months? It is! So guess what? Today is the day you get to toss that stuff and get a new one. Listen, if you don’t use it often enough, buy a smaller jar. Even though it costs more money, it really is the cheaper way to go. You don’t need nasty old mayo with a thick crust on it in your fridge!
Here are some more items you probably have languishing in the doors of your fridge or way in the back:
Old Condiment Syndrome
Ladies, are you suffering from OCS? Old Condiment Syndrome? You know what I’m talking about. Crusty ketchup bottles, icky, old Ranch dressing and ancient mustard?
We all have a lot of condiments, don’t we? Listen, I know what you have lurking in your refrigerator doors. Fossilized condiments! And more than a busy hotdog stand in New York City needs, too!
Did you know the refrigerated shelf life for mayonnaise is two months? It is! So guess what? Today is the day you get to toss that stuff and get a new one. Listen, if you don’t use it often enough, buy a smaller jar. Even though it costs more money, it really is the cheaper way to go. You don’t need nasty old mayo with a thick crust on it in your fridge!
Here are some more items you probably have languishing in the doors of your fridge or way in the back:
- Mustard. Not just the yellow kind, but Dijon, honey mustard, brown mustard and that teeny, tiny jar of gourmet mustard from the gift basket you received over the holidays with the funky taste. No one likes it, but instead of throwing it out, you put it in the fridge. Why? Toss it! Shelf life: 6-8 months in the fridge; 2 years unopened in a pantry.
- Jams and Jellies. Yesterday, I pulled out a raspberry jam that had a “best used by” date of 4/5/05. YIKES! I bet you have some of those too! Time to chuck them as well! Shelf life: 1 year in the fridge; 1 year unopened in the pantry.
- Salad Dressings. A lot of commercial salad dressings have enough preservatives in them to embalm you. However, nothing lasts forever. If they’ve been opened for more than 3 months in the fridge, they’ve gotta go too. Unopened, they’ll last a year in your pantry.
- Pickles. I think I’ve had the same jar of pickles in my fridge since I’ve had the raspberry jam. The issue for pickles is they don’t last as long as jam in the fridge! Only 1-2 months opened and in the fridge. For the pantry shelf? One year unopened.
- Ketchup. I don’t even want to know how old my ketchup is. Let’s just say probably from the same era as the pickles and the raspberry jam. Truth is, it’s only good for about 2 months in the fridge. Unopened and on the pantry shelf, it can last a year before it needs tossing.
- Salsa and Hot Sauce. Guess what? Once your hot sauce or salsa is opened, it’s good for just a month in the fridge! Don’t wait for it to mold; throw it OUT! Unopened, it’s good for a year on your pantry shelf.
- Olives. Oh yes, I confess. My olives are refrigerator pals with the jam, ketchup and pickles! Out they go today…they only last a month opened in the fridge. They’ll last a year unopened in your pantry though!
Weekly Menu Form
https://sites.google.com/site/allisonbrittonfiles/Home
Click this link, then click the attachment Blank MealPlan (this is my first time using google sites so please let me know if this doesn't work and I'll figure something else out). It's an excel file, I think I got it from the Microsoft database, I don't really remember.
It's very plain, but I've been using it for ages and it helps me stay organized with my grocery shopping and what I'm gonna make for meals in the coming week. If I know what I'm going to make and have the food at home the chances of me actually making the meals instead of hitting the drive thru are much better. Certainly not 100% or even 90%, because I still have weeks where it seems like I planned it out but end up picking up dinner the whole week, but that's life and I accept it. I usually put two or three desserts on the list, one for Sunday, one for Monday (FHE) and one for another week night.
It's helpful if you glance at your calendar while planning your dinners. For example on a night when there's a lot going on, I'll plan a crockpot dinner. I LOVE my crockpot!!!
You can stop reading at this point...
I'm compulsive and have to push it to the next step so I actually have about 8 of these that are marked "regular" menus and 4 that are marked "food storage" menus. I try to rotate the food storage ones in here and there so I'm rotating those food items out of my pantry/freezer. The idea is to have enough food on hand to make the food storage menus three times which would take care of my three months storage. Sometimes I keep that up and sometimes I don't, I try not to beat myself up when I fall behind...
Click this link, then click the attachment Blank MealPlan (this is my first time using google sites so please let me know if this doesn't work and I'll figure something else out). It's an excel file, I think I got it from the Microsoft database, I don't really remember.
It's very plain, but I've been using it for ages and it helps me stay organized with my grocery shopping and what I'm gonna make for meals in the coming week. If I know what I'm going to make and have the food at home the chances of me actually making the meals instead of hitting the drive thru are much better. Certainly not 100% or even 90%, because I still have weeks where it seems like I planned it out but end up picking up dinner the whole week, but that's life and I accept it. I usually put two or three desserts on the list, one for Sunday, one for Monday (FHE) and one for another week night.
It's helpful if you glance at your calendar while planning your dinners. For example on a night when there's a lot going on, I'll plan a crockpot dinner. I LOVE my crockpot!!!
You can stop reading at this point...
I'm compulsive and have to push it to the next step so I actually have about 8 of these that are marked "regular" menus and 4 that are marked "food storage" menus. I try to rotate the food storage ones in here and there so I'm rotating those food items out of my pantry/freezer. The idea is to have enough food on hand to make the food storage menus three times which would take care of my three months storage. Sometimes I keep that up and sometimes I don't, I try not to beat myself up when I fall behind...
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Trial Run
I got a crazy idea today to start a blog where you and I could share the little tidbits of information that all of us ladies keep stored in the many corners of our brain.
One of my big flaws is that when an idea randomly pops into my head I can't focus on anything I'm really supposed to be doing. I start brainstorming all the possibilities, get all excited and don't stop until I have something in tangible form. Sometimes this is a good thing and sometimes it gets me into trouble because I don't always think things through. Thank goodness I have a wonderful husband who keeps me grounded and asks all those important questions. Like the day I got the idea to rip out the built in desk in my office so I could rotate it to a different wall. The thought came to me that it would be so nice to face the double doors instead of the window in my office. In theory a great zen idea that I stumbled across but in reality a built in desk isn't a piece of furniture, you can't just move and reattach it without major damage.
So anyways - here goes... I would consider this to be a great project if we all walk away with odds and ends of useful knowledge that help us to increase our enjoyment on this journey we call life. And who knows, maybe we'll develop some great relationships along the way? I would consider it to be a flop that we should just walk away from if it sucks too much precious time out of our already busy lives.
If you'd like to be a contributor (I hope you do) please email me and I'll add your name, I don't want this to be my thing, I want this to be our thing as a collective group. I was sitting here today realizing how much I learn from the ladies that I'm blessed to have in my life. We are all so unique and have so many different talents and qualities to offer. Please don't be shy and think you don't have anything to offer the group because you have plenty to offer and we want to hear all about it!
When posting please use labels according to the categories that have already been used or add new ones as needed. Hopefully this will help us keep things organized so we can find what we're interested in reading about.
As far as topics please share anything you feel would benefit others. Maybe it's an uplifting quote or scripture for the day, or maybe it's something you have that you'd like to donate or something you need that someone else may have lying around their garage? Maybe it's a great recipe that you made for dinner and your family loved? Maybe you've seen great progress with a particular workout or new eating habit? Maybe it's a great tip on budgeting or keeping our heads above water in this crazy economic climate? Maybe it's a great visiting teaching handout or way to organize your food storage? Maybe you have great ideas on cheap date nights or inexpensive family day trips? Maybe you know of a great scripture studying tool or found a cool new website to help put that last minute primary talk together at 10pm on Sunday night? The topics are endless - are you getting the idea here???
I'm hoping to see lots of contributions from all of us here and there. NO pressure to post constantly, just whenever you have a moment to share something that might lighten someones load. I'm counting on ALL of us to share things that we can use to enrich our lives spiritually and temporally :D
P.S. If you're a guy related to one of the ladies on this list and you're reading this feeling a little left out right now, feel free to share your idea. (It better be amazing though! j/k)
One of my big flaws is that when an idea randomly pops into my head I can't focus on anything I'm really supposed to be doing. I start brainstorming all the possibilities, get all excited and don't stop until I have something in tangible form. Sometimes this is a good thing and sometimes it gets me into trouble because I don't always think things through. Thank goodness I have a wonderful husband who keeps me grounded and asks all those important questions. Like the day I got the idea to rip out the built in desk in my office so I could rotate it to a different wall. The thought came to me that it would be so nice to face the double doors instead of the window in my office. In theory a great zen idea that I stumbled across but in reality a built in desk isn't a piece of furniture, you can't just move and reattach it without major damage.
So anyways - here goes... I would consider this to be a great project if we all walk away with odds and ends of useful knowledge that help us to increase our enjoyment on this journey we call life. And who knows, maybe we'll develop some great relationships along the way? I would consider it to be a flop that we should just walk away from if it sucks too much precious time out of our already busy lives.
If you'd like to be a contributor (I hope you do) please email me and I'll add your name, I don't want this to be my thing, I want this to be our thing as a collective group. I was sitting here today realizing how much I learn from the ladies that I'm blessed to have in my life. We are all so unique and have so many different talents and qualities to offer. Please don't be shy and think you don't have anything to offer the group because you have plenty to offer and we want to hear all about it!
When posting please use labels according to the categories that have already been used or add new ones as needed. Hopefully this will help us keep things organized so we can find what we're interested in reading about.
As far as topics please share anything you feel would benefit others. Maybe it's an uplifting quote or scripture for the day, or maybe it's something you have that you'd like to donate or something you need that someone else may have lying around their garage? Maybe it's a great recipe that you made for dinner and your family loved? Maybe you've seen great progress with a particular workout or new eating habit? Maybe it's a great tip on budgeting or keeping our heads above water in this crazy economic climate? Maybe it's a great visiting teaching handout or way to organize your food storage? Maybe you have great ideas on cheap date nights or inexpensive family day trips? Maybe you know of a great scripture studying tool or found a cool new website to help put that last minute primary talk together at 10pm on Sunday night? The topics are endless - are you getting the idea here???
I'm hoping to see lots of contributions from all of us here and there. NO pressure to post constantly, just whenever you have a moment to share something that might lighten someones load. I'm counting on ALL of us to share things that we can use to enrich our lives spiritually and temporally :D
P.S. If you're a guy related to one of the ladies on this list and you're reading this feeling a little left out right now, feel free to share your idea. (It better be amazing though! j/k)
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