How to Make a Family Cookbook

It's easy to create a special family recipes cookbook using your own recipes, a computer, dividers, and a binder.

If you're creating a family recipes cookbook that will be used as a gift, you might want to think about getting a special personalized binder (similar to the one shown) but it isn't really necessary to spend a lot of money on this project.

Begin by collecting your favorite family recipes. You'll probably find that the best ones are handwritten and covered with stains. You'll need to type and print each recipe out on a separate page.

Use the same style for each recipe to give your cookbook a uniform look.

This is a good style to use:

1. Recipe Name and Who Created It.
2. Ingredients
3. Directions
4. How Many Servings Does the Recipe Make

Be sure to add fun notes about the dish, (Bobby loves this one.) or a favorite story about each recipe's creator. (I remember Dad making this every Sunday.)

You can add these stories either at the beginning, or the end of each recipe.

If you have the capability, a photo of the actual dish would be nice too!

Use dividers to separate recipe types in your binder. Being that this is a personal family recipes cookbook you can choose from several ways to divide your recipes.

• The Traditional Way: by recipe type, appetizers, main course, etc.
• By Family Member: Mom's Recipes, Grandma's Recipes, etc.
• By Holiday or Occasion; Thanksgiving Recipes, Cook Out Recipes, etc.
• Or any combination of all three; Nana's 4th of July Recipes, Sissy's Thanksgiving Appetizer Recipes, etc.

Laminate the Recipe Pages

Laminating isn't absolutely necessary but if you want to keep the recipe pages clean and have the family recipes cookbook binder for years to come it is highly recommended.