Recipe Organization

Recipe boxes, Pinterest, cookbooks, digital storage, magazine pages, printable, recipe cards...

If you're like me these are just some of the ways you've probably tried to keep track of your favorite recipes.  Can I state for all of us that keeping track of recipes can be a mess!!  The cookbooks get sticky  fingerprints, the magazine pages end up wrinkled in a pile, the tablet keeps going into sleep mode while you cook, and where is that recipe card with grannies secret family recipie??? Frustrating!!!  Am I right??

When we were married a friend of my husband's family gave me a cookbook with her favorite recipes.  She had printed them off and placed them inside plastic sleeves in a 3 ring binder.  This was the inspiration for my current recipie system.

Problem solver:  plastic sleeves keep recipie pages washable.  No worries about propping open a cookbook or activating a sleepy tablet, just pop out the page you're using and put the rest aside.  Mismatched page sizes don't matter, find a magazine...then rip it and slip it.  Recipe cards can either be photocopied or slipped into their own sleeves.  Printed recipes have found a home.  The only thing it doesn't solve for me is actual cookbooks...because I'm not going to rip them appart...or photocopy every page.  So I keep them how they are :).

You'll need:
4-5 binders
A pack of plastic page protectors (I buy mine as SAMS)
A printer or copy machine

Here's how I have mine. 

MEATS AND MAIN DISHES
Subcategories: Eggs, Beef, Meatless, Pork, Poultry, Seafood & Fish, Soups

DIPS AND SAUCES
Subcategories: Dips, Dressings, Savory Sauces, Sweet Sauces

SALADS AND SIDES
Subcetegories:  Beans, Fruits and Vegitables, Pasta Salads, Potatoes, Cold Salads, Sweet Salads

DESSERTS
Subcategories: Bars, Breads and Muffins, Cakes, Candies, Cookies, Ice Cream and Sorbet, Pies

MISC
This is where I keep home preservation and canning, freezer meals, DIY home cleaners and personal care products, etc.

Each binder is color coded and I used coordinating cardstock to divide the different sections.  I just used a sharpie to write them, but you could print something if you want to be fancy.

That's how I divide them but do it however works for you, and put the recipes where it makes sense to you.  For example, broccoli salad could go under cold salads or vegitables.  I always forget where i put it (I chose cold salads btw).

There you have it!

Freezer Inventory

How many Americans have an extra freezer tucked away in the garage or basement?  Probably quite a few of us. Especially if you're a hunter or gardener who enjoys preserving your own food.  Or maybe you're just a bargain hunter who loves to stock up when the sales are hot.  Either way, how familiar are you with the contents of those freezers?  That's what I thought...not very.

We have a chest and upright freezer in our basement.  I love to preserve food from our garden, and usually stock up on meat when it's on sale.  In the past I toyed around with the idea of keeping a good inventory, but never could figure out how to keep track of what was in ALL the freezers....because remember there's also the one upstairs connected to the fridge.  Ahhh....what's a girl to do??  Don't pull your hair out, I have found a solution.

Here is how I do it...

The two basement freezers are delegated for different things.  One holds the meat, butter, frozen juice, and most of the home preserved goods.  The other holds the ice cream, shredded cheese, store bought frozen vegetables and bagged potatoes, and frozen breads. 

In my upstairs freezer, there is one section for fruits and vegetables, one section for meats/nuts, and the rest is miscellaneous.  For the most part the upstairs freezer contains easy made meats (nuggets, hot dogs, meatballs) and items you may grab for a quick smoothie or snack. When I'm meal planning, I pull from the basement, and most of the time use the entire quantity of a package for one meal. We are blessed to have a full service meat counter at our grocery store that will cut and package meats in whatever size packages you want!!!

Ok...ok...so now you know how I ORGANIZE my freezers, but wasn't this a post on INVENTORY?  Yes, you're right. It was....I mean is.

Now....

To keep it simple, I only inventory the basement freezers.  Once food makes it upstairs it gets checked off my inventory list.  I may only use half that bag of meatballs or a handful of frozen blueberries, but any opened packages or bags (with the exception of ice cream) stay in the upstairs freezer and out of my inventory.  That way I know what is downstairs is whole, unopened, and complete. No surprises!

Here is how I go about creating and maintaining the inventory of my freezers.  Follow the steps and you can too!!

First, download and print off a Freezer Inventory record sheet. On this worksheet, there is a list of various common foods in my freezer.  Your staples may be different, so I've included a few blank spaces for personalization.  Or...you can print off a Blank Freezer Inventory record sheet and make it entirely your own.  Following each food, there is a grid with room for recording an inventory of up to 8 items of that type.  (If you find more in your freezer you'll have to be creative!)

Second, as you inventory your freezer, place a small mark (dot or x) in the boxes to indicate how many of that item you have on hand. One mark (dot) means one item.

Third, Maintain your record.  When you remove an item from your freezer, shade a square on the grid to cover the mark, and indicate that item is no longer in inventory. If you replenish an item after a shopping trip, you can continue to place markers (dots) in open squares if space allows.

At some point, your sheet will get full and messy looking, so you'll need a new one.  This is a great time to re-inventory the freezer and make sure you've kept your records accurately!  Head back to step one, print of another inventory sheet, and start marking.  Alternately, you could laminate the inventory chart and continue to use it indefinitely by clearing away your markers (dots) rather than shading in each square to maintain your record.  It's really up to you to find the rhythum that works in your kitchen.

That's it!  You can do it!

Hope somebody found this helpful.  Leave a comment if you did.

Interested in learning more about packing meat for easy meal usage? This post on pre-preparing meat might be just the thing.

Need help with meal planning?  Take a look at my meal planning guide and grocery list here.

Booklist: Preschool

PRESCHOOL (Ages 2 to 5)

INTERACTIVE
 .

Dora the Explorer: Dora's Perfect Pumpkin
ISBN 1416934387
This early reader has pictures for a child to help "read" as they follow along to pick out a pumpkin for abuela pumpkin pie.  We've worn the binding off this one.
 .

Look! A Book by Bob Staake
(ISBN 9780316116820)
A unique look and find book.  My biggest complaint is that one two page spread is a "spooky house" theme with some characters like a mummy, vampire, witch, and devil.  If I could only rip that page out...  At the end of the book there are additional items to go back and find making it challenging for a variety of ages.
 .

I Spy: A Funny Frog by Scholastic
Easy enough for a small child to enjoy on their own as they search and match only a couple images per page.
Additional Titles: I Spy: A School Bus early reader
.

EDUCATIONAL
 .

V is for Vittles: A Wild West Alphabet by Greg Paprocki
(ISBN 9781423642510)
The illustrations in this book are just darling and monochromatic.  Comes in a board book version for little hands.  I love unique alphabet books. 
 .

OTHER
 .

Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle
Beautifully illustrated, and a great tale in the lesson of friendship.
 .

Otis by Loren Long
We have several Otis the tractor books.  My son took to him particularly one December in the Christmas themed book.
Other titles include: Otis and the Kittens, An Otis Christmas, and many more.
 .

Mike Mulligan and His Steamshovel by Virginia Lee Burton
 A classic from my childhood, it was one of my favorites.
.

Are You My Mother by P.D. Eastman
My daughter had this book memorized at age 3 and would sit on the couch and "read" it by herself.
.

Red Wagon by Rental Liwska
I LOVE the illustrations in this book.  The tell a sweet substory of Lucy's playful adventure on the way to and from the market.
.

A Good Night Walk by Elisha Cooper
Take a stroll down the block and back to see the neighborhood change as night approaches.

SPANISH/BILINGUAL

Sergio Makes a Splash by Edel Rodriguez 
Other titles in this series include Sergio Saves the Game/ Sergio Salva el Partido

In My Neighborhood/En Mi Vecindario by Anna Bardaus
Each page illustrates a different place in the neighborhood.  The grocery, the library, the fire station, the park....  Identifying objects in both English and Spanish.

This House is Made of Mud/Esta Casa Esta Hecho de Lodo by Ken Buchanan
For this I copied the Amazon description because it explains so well.  I really enjoyed the ability to talk to the kids about how people live differently in other places.  Not necessarily in houses like ours.
"Chosen by Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as a gift to every first grader in the state, this story describes the beauty of the Sonoran Desert and a family whose lives are intertwined with the environment and the home they make from adobe."

Meal Planning and Grocery Lists

I've been trying for years to come up with a system that works for meal planning.  It's so nice to have meal ideas ready to go, but I didn't always like the "commitment".  The fear of committing to lasagna on Tuesday and then really feeling like chicken pot pie.  Never, fear.  I have solved the problem.

Attached below are two different meal planning guides that include everything you need for flexible meal planning and easy grocery shopping.  I'll explain..

Main Dishes and Meals
Here you can write out your meals for the week.  Each meal has a section to list items you have on hand and ingredients you need to purchase for that meal.  You can also choose to assign that meal to a day of the week...or leave it blank.

Snacks and Sides
This is where I put items on my grocery list that I like to keep "in stock" but not specifically for one meal.  For example, I keep fruit on hand for snacks.  We also have a well supplied snack bin in the pantry with granola bars, crasins, fruit snacks, etc.  If there is a snack item on sale, I list it here.  I also like to have some sides and side dishes in the fridge.  My fresh vegi's with dip or hummus would go here.  I also sometimes make a big batch of coleslaw, noodle salad, fruit salad, etc to keep in the fridge as an added side to meals that needs filled out...or as before bedtime snacks.  Those go in this section.  In my original design I didn't have a place for my sides with multiple ingredients (like the cold salads), so I added that in the updated version.  However, you can place those things under your Main Dishes and Meals if that works best for you.

We're Out!
This is where I list items as we use them up.  Last of the ketchup? "We're out!"  Used up the heel of bread? "We're out!"  I also put staple items that we may not quite be out of yet, but will run out of by the next grocery trip.  Like milk for example.  There may be an inch in the bottom of the jug, but that's not going to make it a week...so for all practical purposes, "We're Out!".

Stock Up
I like to stock up on items when they are on sale.  Especially, if they are items we use consistently or are deeply discounted.  As any savvy person should know, if you buy two when you only use one, and the other gets thrown out, you didn't save any money.  Here are my rules for stocking up...

1) Discount threshold.  I wanted to make an easy rule for a flat discount requirement to be "on sale" enough to stock up.  But in reality different items carry different sales.  For example, olives never go less than 99 cents, which is about 25% off.  When they hit that price I stock up.  Canned vegetables, on the other hand, can drop down to 35 cents in the fall which is over 50% off.  So in my head I have some set numbers for different products that I usually don't buy, let alone stock up on, unless they go below that price.  Because saving 10 cents on a box of pasta probably isn't worth the shelf space.

2) For items we use all the time and I would buy at regular price, because we need them and use them nearly weekly, I have a much looser rule.  Even if they are not very discounted, if I know I'm going to buy another one next week at full price, I'll buy two this week on sale, and save the small amount.

Other
This is your section to use however you choose.

Hope this is helpful in your meal planning!!!  I'd love to hear feedback.

Original Meal Planning/Grocery Template (Vertical)

Updated Meal Planning/Grocery Template (Horizontal)

Lesson: Length and Distance

This week our math focus is on measuring. 

We started with this book:
How do you Measure Length and Distance? (ISBN9781429663304) by Thomas K and Heather Adamson

I had a foot ruler, a yard stick, and a measuring tape on hand for them to explore and to demonstrated the concepts in the book.

Basically just follow the book.  We talked about how measuring things by hands would be different for every person.  Compare your hands with the others in your class.  Who's are bigger?  Who's are smaller?  Does a crayon look the same in everyone's hand?

Some easy objects to measure are "new" crayones (3 inches), small glue sticks (3 inches), kids scissors, (5 inches), desks (24 inches),.... some other objects are not even increments, for example, markers are about 5.5 inches.

We also practiced measureing their heights.  My son (2) is about 34 inches tall, my daughter (4) is 40 so we couldn't use the yard stick for her and had to use the tape measure. 

After we finished the book I just let them play around at measuring whatever they desired.

For a more advanced measurement lesson download this free worksheet pack from teacherspayteachers.  It has inch, half, quarter, and eighth.
 
Practice using alternate objects to measure distance. 
Here's an Easter printable using eggs as your unit of measure.

Book List: Infants & Toddlers

INFANTS & TODDLERS (Birth-2)

INTERACTIVE

Where Is Spot by Eric Hill
My kids love lifting the flaps while looking for spot around the house.  We also have Spot Goes to the Farm.

From Head to Toe by Eric Carle
A friend had this book and it was one of few I've purchased brand nee.  The actions get your body moving...as it says..from head to toe.

Pop Up Peekaboo Farm by DK Publishing
As much as we tried to prevent it this one got used and ripped to shreds.  My daughter loved it!

EDUCATIONAL

Brown Bear Brown Bear by Eric Carle
This was my daughters absolute favorite book when she was about 1 1/2.  Her favorite thing was to say the fish sound "blub blub".   The little 2 year old we fostered also claimed this as one of her 2 favorite books. Our copy has been taped together many times.

My First Book of Things to Spot by Usborne
(ISBN 9780794530174)
Colorful illustrations with look and find clues strung throughout the pages and images.  My 2 and 4 year olds like this one.

Sassy: Baby's First Words by Grosset and Dunlap
This book taught our foster daughter (2.5 yrs but delayed) so many skills in picture identification, sounds, and a love of reading.  One of her two favorites.

Where's My Nose by Susan Ring
This rhyming book sends readers on a search for their nose which they eventually find in the mirror at the back of the book.

SPANISH/BILINGUAL
Baby Sounds/Los Sonidos Del Bebe by Joy Allen
ISBN 9780399186691
Unfortunately I can't find this book online in the bilingual version even when I search the ISBN.  It's a great little introduction to various spanish sounds.  Who knew a bird/chick says "pio!"? 

In My Neighborhood/En Mi Vecindario by Anna Bardaus
Each page illustrates a different place in the neighborhood.  The grocery, the library, the fire station, the park....  Identifying objects in both English and Spanish.

Let's Make a Box House

Original Publication 2/28/15

Never underestimate the value of a simple box!  This weekend, my husband decided to install a new vanity in our bathroom. The box was absolutely perfect for a little playhouse for our 1 year old daughter.

Gather:

Large Box

Markers

Utility Knife

Colored Tape

Packaging Tape

Step 1: I connected the top two tabs of the box with a strip of packaging tape to create a rough. I then used a jumbo sharpie marker (like the king sized ones) to draw a shingle pattern.  Roof complete!

Step 2: I used a utility knife to cut out a door and window on the front of the box.  We have like 10 rolls of painters tape lying around from when we first bought our house, so I used one to 'trim' them out. You could also use colored duct tape.

Step 3: Decorate!  The house isn't a home without that personal touch. This is where the project can break the two dollar mark, so I just used a marker to create a welcome sign on the door.  However, you could create real signs or art for the inside from paper or whatever else you have lying around. You could buy some cheap dollar store flowers and create a planter box under the window. You can use construction ever to make more realistic looking shingles. The options are really endless depending on how much time and money you want to put into it.

Step 4: Play!!