From The Cook

I love to cook....and therefore I love recipes. I'll print them from the internet, rip from a magazine (not all magazines though), tear them from a newspaper, hound a friend until I get what I want from them, etc.

I have magazines boxes filled with gallon sized Ziploc bags filled with recipes in my pantry. Is that weird? I have the bags labeled : appetizers, cookies, soups, main dishes, chicken, desserts, for the grill, seafood, veggies, sides, you get the picture.

I make a pile of my recipe collection, and then every so often I "file" them in the right bag. Spread them out alphabetically and sort the recipes into their desired location.

What I do hate though, are recipes that can go two ways: Melissa's Pumpkin Chipper Muffins--do they go in breakfast or breads? Why do things like this make me insane? I even asked Russ where to put it. As if he would answer that. He said, "You know more about this stuff than I do!" Bless him.

Every so often, I'll get out the bags and go through them, looking for something interesting, add the ingredients to my grocery list and try it. If it's a hit, it goes in my "tried and true" cookbook filled with recipes that I like. When a recipe goes in the book, I throw away the original--and it's almost as wonderful of a feeling as crossing something off my to do list. (The more I write, the crazier I sound!)

Last weekend I went through all of the bags, it took a while. I pulled 2 or 3 recipes from each bag and put them in a file folder--for easy access. I'll try the stuff, write down what I like in that cookbook of mine, and refill it when it's getting low. That is fun for me. WHY?

Are you dying to know what's in the folder? Here you go:

Olive Stuffed Chicken with Almonds
Peanutty Chocolate Banana Bread
A and Z Dip
Margarita Dessert Dip with Cinnamon Chips
Orange Crumble Top Muffins with Orange Butter
Amazing Overnight French Toast
Kids Creamy, Fruity Stuffed French Toast Hearts
Squillionaire's Shortbread
Ooey Gooey Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies
Almond Macaroon Brownies
Chicken Pot Pie (Melissa's)
Noodle and Spinach Casserole
Broiled Sweet and Tangy Tilapia
Baked Scallops
Crunchy New Potatoes
Parmesan Spaghetti Squash
Savory Zucchini Sticks
Orange Glazed Asparagus

Sounds good, doesn't it? That isn't even 100th of the recipes I've collected...and continue to collect. Now get to cookin'!