Do you have a “family favourites” recipe book or index?

Having a place to store all of your family favourites is a no brainer when it comes to organizing, planning and just reminding yourself and the other hungry folks what everyone likes!

Now I will admit that I have a serious cookbook addiction, if I cooked 1 recipe form each cookbook I have everyday it would take me more than a few months to get through them all!  But the one little recipe book that is never far form reach is my little black book.  This is a lovely, collection of all of our family favourites form breakfasts to snacks to the main course and cherished holiday favourites.

To help keep everything in one place my preference is the ARC notebook system available at Staples.

The best features is that it is expandable and really cost effective.  You can add pages and sections at will and even expand the ring system, accommodating your additions and culinary growth 😉

Having a little black book of family favourites makes weekly planning a much easier task.  On average people will cycle through under a dozen recipes at any given time, having your own personal reference makes getting to the table much easier.

Each week I typically go for a few new recipes but you will always find the favourites mixed in.  Especially with kids, it allows their pallet to have a break form new sampling and fall back on the comfort of knowing what will be for dinner and what it tastes like.  The more you prepare a recipe the faster and easier it is to get dinner on the table.  The key is to have a combination each week of familiar fare and new adventure.

If your preference is to forego the recipe book then consider this great online tool to help you organize you family favourites: Evernote.  Evernote offers you the ability to synch across all of your devices and gives you the flexibility to take pictures, create to-do lists and organize to your hearts content.  There is a free and a subscription version (which is around $40/year ).

If organizing your recipes is just not your thing then at least consider creating some sort of index where you can keep the recipe name, where it can be found and if it was hit.

Life can get complicated – with a little bit of thought and preparation something that was seen as a task can become manageable.

Never underestimate the value of passing down recipes and incorporating family traditions into your weekly roll.  A families history can be told in what they prepared and how they prepared it.  Your mother or father never passed anything down to you …. start a new tradition today.

There is great comfort in knowing where you came from, family traditions and secrets passed down form generation to generation.  Food is often how we express our love for one another.  Chart your own rich history and get people together to celebrate new or old traditions.  Remember it does not have to be fancy or gourmet, it just has to be.

An old family favourite for us is Sweet Potato Stew, it is easy to prepare, and leftovers are fantastic whether they are simply placed in the fridge or frozen.

Sweet Potato Stew:

1  med onion diced

3 cloves of garlic pressed or minced

1T fresh grated ginger

1T curry powder (use mild or strong to your liking)

1T extra virgin olive oil or aroma free coconut oil

1C dried green lentils

2-3 med sweet potatoes diced – bite sized pieces

4c water

1/3c Knorr Vegetable Bovril (or any other concentrated liquid veg broth)

1-28oz can diced tomatoes with juice

• Sauté the onion in the oil for about 6-8 minutes until just before they start to brown
• Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for 30 seconds
• Add the curry powder and stir for another 30 seconds
• Add in remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and cook on low / med uncovered for 30-45 minutes (until the liquid has reduced and the stew is nice and thick)

Serve on its own or with crusty bread for dipping.

See you at the table!