By Ann Springer

Piles and piles of new recipes you’ve been wanting to try? Endless cookbooks but no place to store them? Do you have recipes scrolled out on 3 x 5 cards and others torn from the pages of a magazine? Most people have more recipes than they could ever cook in a lifetime, and the Internet has made cookbooks almost obsolete because they make recipes so easy to locate. However, everyone has their tried and true family favorites or recipes that have been passed down for generations that they cherish. The Web won’t replace these classics.

Your desire to try new recipes probably doesn’t match up with your hectic weekly routine and real-life plans. Once you compile them from all the nooks and crannies in the house in which you’ve stashed them, you may realize that you have more recipes than you could possible ever try. It also consumes greater energy to put your brain to use on a new recipe than to just whip up a meal you’ve made a million times.

Before you toss out all of your cookbooks or give up hope that you’ll ever try one of those new recipes that caught your eye, just remember that you need to get organized before you can be a culinary success.

I recommend you begin by streamlining the many recipes you love and compiling them into a three-ring binder. Decorative, fun binders make the final product look more like a cookbook. Or, you can design a cover and slide it in the front pocket. Photocopy each 3 x 5 card or magazine clip out onto a 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper and slide them into protective covers to prevent spills. Use dividers to separate the recipes into categories: appetizers, salads, main dishes, desserts, etc.

Next, take your pile of recipes you’ve been wanting to take for a test spin and carefully sift through them so you are down to the best 25-30 you really want to create in your own kitchen. Place those on the inside from pocket of the binder. As you plan your menu each week, pull out the recipes and choose one recipe you’d like to sample. It’s probably only realistic to choose one day per week that you think you’ll have the time and the energy to devote to it. If you decide it’s a winner you can photocopy it and add it to your personalized cookbook.

While this initial step may take time it’s worth it to have all of your recipes in one place. You’ll never be hunting down Grandma’s Christmas Cookies again amidst the chaos of preparing for the holidays. Or trying to remember which cookbook has the chicken recipe your husband loves. It also makes it easy to make additional copies which make great gifts for friends and family. Imagine all the recipes you can compile over a 20 year period that you can then share with your children as they start their own homes. It will give them the comforts of home even if they’re miles away.

By Ann Springer

Kids are known to be grazers. They’re always hungry, thirsty, or in need of a snack. You can find a toddler at your feet demanding a snack before you’ve even finished cleaning up from lunch. Or an older child who eats three bowls of cereal after devouring a delicious pancake breakfast. At that pace, your kitchen can pay the price for all of that food prep and so can your sanity if you spend all day donning an apron.

Unfortunately, most kids stake a claim on their independence long before they’re really able to work their way around a kitchen. They snack out of the pantry an hour before dinner will be served, or they eat the last slices of cheese you were going to serve atop your cheeseburgers. They are notorious for making food and then leaving ingredients out for hours. And most mothers have quit counting the number of plates that have been sacrificed as a result of a child trying to reach something out of his or her range.

Giving children independence can be confidence building when you set them up for a successful experience instead of just blindly handing over the reins. Here are some ways to help children accomplish simple tasks independently in the dining department:

1. Give them easy access. Place plastic, reusable plates, bowls, and cups in a bottom drawer dedicated just for kid-friendly dining wear. You can find lots of fun, brightly colored dishes that are dish-washer friendly. Replace them periodically as you see wear-and-tear. I try not to use disposable paper products to save the family budget and the environment, but they’re great to have on hand when the kids have friends over.

2. Give them a drawer or two. Filling up one bottom drawer in the fridge and one in the pantry with snacks that you deem as healthy will allow your kids to choose freely what they eat during snack time. Place a fruit bowl full of all of those wonderful seasonal fruits somewhere little hands can easily reach.

3. Give them a drink. Kids never drink enough water, so put a pitcher or a tap in the fridge for them to get to easily. Cold water is more refreshing, tastes better, and tends to be more appealing than regular tap water. It’s great when they can grab a drink for themselves so you don’t hear the repeated pleas crying out, “I need a drink!”

4. Give them a job. Toddlers can help clear the table or push in the chairs. Older children can help slice tomatoes or peel carrots. Everyone can play a role in the preparation and clean up of meals. You should view these as baby steps into teaching them how to cook. Every great chef has a team of people that help to create the feast. Empower your kids in the kitchen by giving them responsibilities they can handle.

5. Give them a list. I like to keep a magnetic dry erase board on my fridge displaying our menu for the week in hopes of eliminating the endless inquiry of, “What’s for dinner, Mom?” It also seems to help cure everyone of the response that usually follows, “I don’t like that. Can I have something else?” Clearly showing the expectation really helps to dispel the whining. I also try to include them in meal planning to help them feel excited about what’s served on their plates.

By Ann Springer

1.       It’s possible that instead of having too many cooks in the kitchen, you have too many cooking utensils, pieces of silverware, or dishes to be effective. If your cabinets are overflowing you’re likely in need of some healthy purging to donate the items you no longer need, the items you don’t really use, or the items that are missing pieces.

2.       Once you’ve whittled down your kitchen supplies to what you really need and use, you can begin to sort the items you have by function. Put the eating essentials, the spices and foods, and small appliances and instruments in separate groups.

3.       Assigning homes to the each grouping can be tricky because you need to keep in mind how accessible each set of items needs to be. For example, a bottom drawer is great for storing plastic re-usable cups and bowls for small children. You may also want to put the plates and cups somewhere close to the dishwasher so it’s easy to clear them out when they’re clean.

4.       Even though it may be tempted to put small appliances on the countertop, if you don’t use it every day you should considering tucking away small appliances in the cabinets. Clear countertops give you a larger surface to work on and it’s more visually appealing.

5.       Pots should be stored one inside the next with lids stacked on top of each other by size. Random kitchen tools, like egg slicers, skewers and small strainers can be placed horizontally in a drawer since they’re only used occasionally.

6.       Managing the food in your kitchen is an essential final step and should be done most frequently because it’s the only thing in the kitchen marked with an expiration date. Start with your fridge and toss any spoiled food or expired condiments. Try to limit the number of open condiments you have to the door storage and a few items on the top shelf. Keep dairy products together on a shelf. Put fruits and vegetables in a drawer to preserve them longer. Wipe everything down beginning at the top and working your way down. It’s amazing how many spills and crumbs can dirty a fridge in a short amount of time. Keep a magnetic dry erase board tacked to your fridge so you can write down what foods you need to use up so they don’t get forgotten.

7.       Finally, take a look at the pantry. First start by purging items that have expired. Then group like items together – pastas and grains, soups and sauces, snack foods and cereals, staples like flour and sugar. Wipe everything down and refill each shelf with food according to its assigned group. Consider using the bottom shelf for healthy kid snacks if you have young children.