MacGourmet

To help me reach my goal of creating my own family cookbook, I have been researching recipe/cookbook programs online.  I finally settled on MacGourmet.

There were a couple of things that I really liked about it:

1.  It is a breeze to start entering recipes - fill in the ingredients, then the steps, any special tools you may need, add a picture, it'll even calculate the nutritional information for you.  I was a little bummed that I couldn't import my really old Yum cookbook file - but that is what happens after years of not updating.  Thankfully, there is the good ole cut and paste.

2.  There is a built in web browser that you can scour all the great recipe sites.  Then in that same window, you can magically highlight sections of the webpage and with a little "command - 1", etc., magic you fill all the recipe fields for a new recipe.  It made life really easy when I wanted to add the slow-cooker chicken pot pie recipe to my "recipe box" in the program.  I will share in another update - never fear!

3.  You can purchase plug-ins that allow you to create meal plans, cookbooks (that's what it is all about), and do all that nutritional calculation stuff.  While I am tempted to create a cookbook using this method, I realized a few things.  I am constantly trying out new recipes - some I like, some I don't.  I need a way to preserve them that allows for addition or deletion in the long run.  It is a little hard to do if I print out one designed cookbook and bind it.  Right now I am setting up a temporary binder home for all of my recipes.  But who wants to pass down all their family recipes in a binder???  I would like to keep them in something more along these lines or maybe something like this.  Birthday idea anyone?!?!? or even anniversary gift!!

4.  It also has a wine "recipe box".  You can fill in all the info about the wine you had with dinner.  We have an actual wine journal but I think it might be getting full.  Might be nice to add all this info and any new wines to this program.

5.  It has sister apps for the iphone and ipad - which is great.  I can bring my recipes anywhere then.  No need to worry about what the heck those extra ingredients were.  All right there in one spot.

As one might well imagine, I have a load of "data" entry to do.  I am hoping to get a few recipes entered a day although that might be wishful thinking.

Next update:  Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie