When I began looking through some of my mother's recipes, I noticed she had some recipes left over from my grandmother.
My grandmother was born in the late 1800's.
Imagine how delighted I was to find these century-old recipes.
Some of these recipes are still made by both my mother and me today.
Other recipes needed to be changed just a bit to make them healthy and to use ingredients that are found in today's markets.
Creating a family cookbook can be a very simple procedure.
I took home all of my mom's recipes and typed them up in a word document.
If you would like to include other family members' recipes, write a note and ask if they can either postal mail or email you copies of their favorite family recipes.
For example, my mom's nephew married a woman who is a wonderful cook.
We wanted some of her recipes in our family cookbook.
When my husband's family made their family cookbook, they included a "family section" up front.
This section included their names, spouses' names, address, email address, birthday, anniversary and then kids' names and birthdays.
This was an awesome addition to their family cookbook.
Once you've collected recipes and other data, it's time to assemble your cookbook.
I prefer simplicity.
I selected what I believe are the basic recipe categories; Appetizers, Main Dishes, Side Dishes and Desserts.
I could put every recipe into one of those four categories.
At this point you can be as simple or detailed as you want.
You can create pages with borders around them.
You can bold the recipe name.
You can add page numbers.
You can create category pages.
You can create a table of contents or index.
Your last step is putting all of the pages together.
You can use half inch notebooks with dividers or you can take the pages to a copy shop and have them copied and bound.
I have access to a binding machine so that's actually my first choice.
My husband's family did theirs in small three-ring scrapbook albums.
They created half-sized sheets with the recipes on them and then used the scrapbook for storage.
This allowed them to create the cookbooks at home, instead of having to take them to a printer.
No matter how you put the pages together, you'll want a cover sheet.
At a minimum you want your family name on the cover page.
I've seen some family cookbooks that have the family crest on the cover.
I've seen others that have a pretty border with the family name centered on the page.
These completed cookbooks make wonderful holiday gifts, going away gifts and wedding gifts as members of the family begin getting married.
Be creative and make a special keepsake for you own family, featuring all of those recipes you want to share with your own children.
My grandmother was born in the late 1800's.
Imagine how delighted I was to find these century-old recipes.
Some of these recipes are still made by both my mother and me today.
Other recipes needed to be changed just a bit to make them healthy and to use ingredients that are found in today's markets.
Creating a family cookbook can be a very simple procedure.
I took home all of my mom's recipes and typed them up in a word document.
If you would like to include other family members' recipes, write a note and ask if they can either postal mail or email you copies of their favorite family recipes.
For example, my mom's nephew married a woman who is a wonderful cook.
We wanted some of her recipes in our family cookbook.
When my husband's family made their family cookbook, they included a "family section" up front.
This section included their names, spouses' names, address, email address, birthday, anniversary and then kids' names and birthdays.
This was an awesome addition to their family cookbook.
Once you've collected recipes and other data, it's time to assemble your cookbook.
I prefer simplicity.
I selected what I believe are the basic recipe categories; Appetizers, Main Dishes, Side Dishes and Desserts.
I could put every recipe into one of those four categories.
At this point you can be as simple or detailed as you want.
You can create pages with borders around them.
You can bold the recipe name.
You can add page numbers.
You can create category pages.
You can create a table of contents or index.
Your last step is putting all of the pages together.
You can use half inch notebooks with dividers or you can take the pages to a copy shop and have them copied and bound.
I have access to a binding machine so that's actually my first choice.
My husband's family did theirs in small three-ring scrapbook albums.
They created half-sized sheets with the recipes on them and then used the scrapbook for storage.
This allowed them to create the cookbooks at home, instead of having to take them to a printer.
No matter how you put the pages together, you'll want a cover sheet.
At a minimum you want your family name on the cover page.
I've seen some family cookbooks that have the family crest on the cover.
I've seen others that have a pretty border with the family name centered on the page.
These completed cookbooks make wonderful holiday gifts, going away gifts and wedding gifts as members of the family begin getting married.
Be creative and make a special keepsake for you own family, featuring all of those recipes you want to share with your own children.
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