Experimenting.

No, Mom, I'm not experimenting with drugs! More like trying out some new recipes. I don't know about you, but I am a clipper! When it comes to books and magazines, I cut, clip, tear, dog-ear, you name it, I do it! Over this past year I've had a magazine subscriptions to House and Home, Style at Home, Chatelaine, Good Housekeeping, and Homemakers! Eeek!

Talk about magazine OVERLOAD...

I end up having a pile that looks like this! Ugh. So this year, I've finally come to my senses and cut down on the subscriptions. Although, in my defense, most of them were the freebies you get when you buy specially marked boxes of Cheerios. I'm only keeping Chatelaine for now. I find their articles super practical and helpful. As much as I love my home decor magazines, I just don't have the time right now, and most of the things I do like are fairly timeless, so I can easily find them in a magazine that's 2 or 5 or even 10 years old. Not to mention all the amazing ideas you can find online.

I'm a happy camper when my magazine stash looks something like this...
So back to my clipping addiction. Its not good. I've been at it since we've lived in Alberta, and you end up with a pile looking like this. And this is just my recipes, not my home decor/crafting ideas! Yikes!

The other night, while watching a show with the husband, I trimmed, tossed and three-hole punched all of the recipes that I have been clipping over the years. (FYI: I cannot just sit and just watch a movie. I must be doing something with my hands. Unfortunately for my weight, eating can fit into the "doing something with my hands" category. Sigh).

If you'll notice, on top of that pile sits a cute little book, entitled "Recipe Keeper." Brilliant idea right? Yeah, only if you use it! My cousin gave me that over a year ago now. Ahem. It has been collecting dust, and I have continued on with my clipping addiction. So I finally put all the clipped recipes in their respective places, Main Dishes, Appetizers, Desserts, etc. Now, the real trick is to try them all out.

We also have a number of cookbooks that also have a few recipes that I would like to try out. I am slowly moving away from cookbooks, because I do find most of my recipes online these days, but there is something about a pretty stack of cookbooks on a counter top, isn't there? I'd really like the husband to build me a mini bookshelf for this spot that would span from the base of the cabinets down to the counter top. If it could fit the cookbooks, and maybe two little baskets for kitchen randomness, I'd be a happy camper.
Last week was black bean week. I tried out 3 different dishes, all having black beans as a main ingredient. Two got 5 stars, and one was a 3-4 stars (probably won't keep that one). But wow. 3 recipes down, in just one week! I found it took a bit longer to shop and plan my list, but I think it really paid off. We got to try something new, and I made a dent, albeit a small dent, in my recipe stash.

So this week, there really isn't a theme, but again, three more nights of new meals. I actually really enjoy trying out new recipes, its just the matter of having the time to look them over, shop for them, and make them.
I realize I still haven't done the 2010 follow up post, or the what's to be done in 2011, but seriously, where is the time? But one of my thoughts for 2011, is use up what you have. This can span from clothing, to food in my cupboards, to craft items, to home renovation items. So I'm slowly working through the recipes I do have. And the recipe binder I do have.