Recipe Apps

Sammijo10 · ‎05-14-2011

Do any of you use any type of Recipe App or software to store and access your favorites? I have print outs from various websites, not to mention my favorites from scads of my cookbooks and when i need to find one for dinner I need to start the search a day ahead of time!

What do find useful or not in any apps/software that you use.

Thanks for the feedback!

Just Me Too · ‎05-03-2010

copymethat.com is great

Sammijo10 · ‎05-14-2011

Wow, only one of you all talented cooks use a computer to help you organize your recipes?

Are your favorites all in your head or do you use another method to keep track? i'm trying to pare down my paper and I'm at a loss as to the best method.

Thanks for all your help.

oceantown · ‎03-10-2010

Hi, Sammijo,

Years ago I decided to organize my recipes so I just started typing them onto my document program, Microsoft Word.

I would do a few each day. I made a main folder, Recipes, and then in that folder I had sub-folders for each category. Such as Main Dish-Beef, Main Dish-Chicken, Dessert, etc. The reason I have the words Main Dish in front of Beef, etc., is that these folders will be in alphabetical order, and I wanted all my main dish categories to be right next to each other in the folder list. Hope this makes sense!

In the dessert folder I have more folders, cakes, cheesecake, fruit, pies, and if the dessert did not come under those headings they are listed separately in desserts.

Eventually I also made another main folder, called Recipes to Try.

This has worked well for me, and eventually I printed out my recipes and put in 3 ring binders with tabs that had my folder titles.

I will say though, that I rarely go to the paper version. It is much easier to search in the word search box for the recipe. My computer is very close by to easily read from the computer while I am cooking.

I have backed up all my recipes onto our 2nd computer (laptop) and also every once in a while I also back up on on the usb flash drive. That is a lot of work and I don't want to lose it.

Edited to add: BTW, I did not print a paper copy of Recipes To Try. After I try a new recipe and decide that it is a keeper, I move it to "Recipes" to the correct folder and I can print it out then and add it to my recipe binder if I want to.

Sammijo10 · ‎05-14-2011

@oceantown wrote:
Hi, Sammijo,
Years ago I decided to organize my recipes so I just started typing them onto my document program, Microsoft Word.

I would do a few each day. I made a main folder, Recipes, and then in that folder I had sub-folders for each category. Such as Main Dish-Beef, Main Dish-Chicken, Dessert, etc. The reason I have the words Main Dish in front of Beef, etc., is that these folders will be in alphabetical order, and I wanted all my main dish categories to be right next to each other in the folder list. Hope this makes sense!

In the dessert folder I have more folders, cakes, cheesecake, fruit, pies, and if the dessert did not come under those headings they are listed separately in desserts.

Eventually I also made another main folder, called Recipes to Try.

This has worked well for me, and eventually I printed out my recipes and put in 3 ring binders with tabs that had my folder titles.

I will say though, that I rarely go to the paper version. It is much easier to search in the word search box for the recipe. My computer is very close by to easily read from the computer while I am cooking.

I have backed up all my recipes onto our 2nd computer (laptop) and also every once in a while I also back up on on the usb flash drive. That is a lot of work and I don't want to lose it.

Edited to add: BTW, I did not print a paper copy of Recipes To Try. After I try a new recipe and decide that it is a keeper, I move it to "Recipes" to the correct folder and I can print it out then and add it to my recipe binder if I want to.

Thanks, Oceantown. I started doing that as well, then started to research all the new apps where you can choose a week's menu of recipes and it creates a shopping list, or where you can import recipies from other foodie websites. I've read the reviews on quite a few apps/software and thought that perhaps someone here had tried one. Always get good reviews and opinions here! Thanks for your help!

adoreqvc · ‎03-09-2010

I have never trusted recipe apps on line because there are too many problems where your entire recipe files may disappear, and it happened to me in the past, so now I keep them in an alphabetical categorized order using a tall 6 drawer steel fire proof filing cabinet on castor wheels, so it can be moved if necessary.

momtochloe · ‎11-03-2013

I actually don't use any apps. I copy and store everything in my email files. I have a main folder and then sub folders for everything. I make sure in addition to the name of the recipe I also include where I found it and hyperlinks so I have everything in one place and videos if I need them.

It's quick and dirty but works great for me!

RainGirl · ‎01-26-2014

I use an application called Evernote for a lot of different things but one of them is for storing recipes. I have notebooks in Evernote organized by categories that work for me. Then each recipe is a note within the notebook. I can add tags to the recipes that help me know where I found it and if I've tried it. The recipes are very searchable by key words. For example, I can find all my recipes that use cranberries in one search. I can also add my own notes to the recipes too. I'm still in the process of converting to this system but I really like it. Two more benefits to Evernote: it keeps my recipes sync'd to all my devices and there is an amazing clip tool that allows me to easily clip new recipes online. So I always have my recipes with me and there are benefits to that. My cookbooks are a different story!

SharkE · ‎08-19-2010

got mine in some kid's binders U buy at walmart. One for cookies, one for bread, etc.

luvsbulldogs · ‎03-14-2010

I copy mine and paste them into Word. Then I save them in MyDocuments under a Recipes folder that I created. I print the one out that I want to try and after trying it if it is a good one I place it into a catergorized 3 ring binder for future use.