We started to receive feedback soon after we posted about Cindy’s meal planning rotation system yesterday. One of my friends who read the post had this to say,
My issue is definitely getting recipes. That is crazy to me someone could have even 3 weeks worth. I have about 5 things I make over and over. That is what I need to work on!!
Can you relate to my friend? When I went to respond to her comment it hit me that she was not alone and I probably should tackle this topic here on the blog for the MANY, MANY other moms who read that post and felt the exact same way. Thirty five recipes does sound like A LOT but I think that when read this post you will see that coming up with a list that big isn’t as daunting of a task as it sounds. Today we want to help moms who are feeling like they are in a meal planning rut, using the same few recipes week after week. We have all been there!
Where do I find my recipe inspiration?
I have a big list of recipes I have accumulated over the years and they go into a cute little Susan Branch recipe binder I got from my mother-in-law a few years back. The concept of the binder is very “scrapbook-y” with stickers, recipes cards and cutesy blank pages and such.
The binder has tabs for each category of recipes: Appetizers, Desserts, Main Dishes, etc. It comes with recipe cards and pages so at first I wanted to rewrite every recipe I use and make it look cutesy…
but then, I did a few and I decided…Nah! That is a lot of work! So, instead I put some plastic page protectors in there and as I found recipes I liked I just stuck them in the page proctectors.
I get recipes from ALL OVER THE PLACE!
Some of my most favorite recipes were torn out of magazines,
printed from online…
passed on to me from someone else…
taken from a plethora of cookbooks…
and cut off of boxes or packages…
Do you ever feel stuck in a meal planning rut, cooking the same recipes week after week? If this is your problem let me offer a few ideas for inspiration that you may, or may not, have thought about.
SEVEN WAYS TO EXPAND YOUR RECIPE STASH
THINK BACK TO YOUR CHILDHOOD.
What did your mom make that you loved when you were little? How about your Grandma? Or your dad? Now ask your husband (if you have one) these questions and see what he loved when he was a kid. Make a list. You are probably going to find at least ten recipes that you could make by asking yourself and your husband these questions. Don’t have the recipe yet? Ask the person who made it or ask around until you get the recipe, if possible. My husband LOVES when I make stuffed cabbage like he had growing up. For me, the recipe I grew up eating and now serve to my kids, is this chicken stir fry recipe right here.
THINK BACK TO PARTIES YOU HAVE BEEN TO.
Think back over the years. Was there something you ate at a party somewhere that you loved? Ask the person who made the food for the recipe. I went to an open house when I was a kid and there was this amazing taco salad. Can you believe that I remember that!? 🙂 I remember because my mom went to the person who made it and asked for the recipe because I liked it so much and I was really grateful.
GET YOUR KID’S OPINION.
Ask your kids what they love to eat and see if you can find an easy, healthy way to cook those things. Ask them if there was ever something you made that they wish you would make again.
GO THROUGH COOKBOOKS YOU FORGOT YOU HAD.
Look through the cookbooks you own. There are probably about 5 recipes in each one that you actually like(d). Copy those recipes and give the cookbook away! If you get 5 recipes from 5 cookbooks then you have 25 recipes to work with! That’s a lot! Put them all in your binder, give away the cookbooks and now you have more room on your shelf and more recipe ideas in a place where they are easy to find!
MAKE YOUR PINTEREST RECIPES.
Did you pin a bunch of recipes on Pinterest but never actually try cooking them? Go through your pins and try some of the recipes out that you are most excited about. If it’s a flop, now you know…if it’s not, print it off and put it in your binder.
THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU LOVE TO EAT AT RESTAURANTS.
What foods do you love at restaurants when you go out? There is a good chance that there might be a “copycat” recipe out there for some of your favorite foods! Google “copycat recipe for ______” and see if you can’t find one. For instance, if you have ever been to a Hibachi restaurant you know that is is expensive to eat there but the food is amazing so you go anyway. What if I told you that you could make your own Hibachi meat and fried rice just like they do in the restaurant!?! It’s true… you can! I know because I have made it, and it was amazing so I shared it on here! 🙂 Click here for the recipe. For a few other copy cat recipes you can go here.
CHECK OUT THE RECIPES ON MEAL PLANNING MOMMIES.
Look up our recipes on Meal Planning Mommies and try to find a handful that you want to try. If you like a recipe, print it off and stick it in your binder! You basically have access to all the recipes in my recipe binder by scanning through what I have posted on this site in the past.
Here is Alisha’s TOP TWENTY favorite dinner recipes
(not all are WW friendly) on this blog:
Chicken Quesadilla with Avocado Tomato Salsa
This amazing steak marinade recipe
Cheese Stuffed Pasta and Sauce
Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells
and I also love this recipe you can make when you need to bring food to a get-together…
…and then there is always the deviled egg recipe! Can’t forget the deviled eggs! You can serve them with this super easy ham recipe.
When I see a recipe I like I try to tear it out of the magazine, print it off on the computer, make a copy, ask for the recipe, etc. right away otherwise I would forget.
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