I have a few favorite websites I go to whenever I need an idea for a meal. One of my favorites is food.com. The homepage is awesome and sometimes I'll get a good idea right there without having to search for anything. Recently, I ran across another site called The Foodee Project. I've been trying to get away from so much bread and pasta in my family's diet and this is a great site, not just for recipes but meal plans as well. Meal plans are something I've been trying to get better at to save time and more money. So, what are your favorite resources for meals and recipes?
My favorite resource is the Food Network and the Cooking Channel. If you go to specific people, such as Rachael Ray, you'll be able to find meals and recipes that can be easy to make. Another great source is a blog called Budget Bytes. Holy cow, the blogger was MADE for people like us who are trying to be more financially savvy. Her recipes are great and diverse, with a price breakdown so we can keep track of everything.
I think AllRecipes.com has a meal planner too. I haven't tried to use it yet though because I'm pretty fickle when it comes to what I'm in the mood to eat at any given time. I cook for myself, so often times when I would try to buy items for several meals during the week, by the time it comes to make one of them I'm in the mood for something else instead, and wind up wasting some of the ingredients as a result. There are some really good food blogs out there too. Some of my favorites are FoodWishes.blogspot.com, Chef John posts some great video recipes on a regular basis. I also enjoy SteamyKitchen.com and NoblePig.com, they have some really good recipes and tons of pics. More recently, I've just discovered BudgetBytes.blogspot.com too, which takes an interesting spin on eating on a budget, she breaks down all the costs and shows how inexpensive the meal is.
My favourite is theLog Inwebsite. Not only are there thousands of recipes to choose from, there are some excellent features as well, covering every aspect of food and drink. All the recipes are tested before publication, and there's full nutritional information as well.
All Recipes is one I go to frequently. Honestly, I don't go straight to sites like that for recipes, though. I tend to Google and then go through multiple recipes until I find one I really like. Sometimes that means a blog instead. Sometimes I'll check in my feed reader, too, to see if one of my favorite bloggers already has a recipe up for the dish I'm looking for.
In addition to the sites already mentioned, Pinterest is becoming one of my favorite places to find recipes. I do tend to do what Jessi does and just Google what it is I am looking for. I have actually found some of my recipes that I use on a regular basis via Google. I am working on putting together a custom recipe book so as I find a good one to try, I print it out. If I like it when I make it, it goes into the book. If I didn't like it, it goes into the trash can.
It's not a website but if any of you have an iPhone or iPad or anything, I HIGHLY recommend you check out the "Big Oven" app. It has tons and tons of great recipes on it, I prefer it to some of the big name recipe websites out there.
I use weight watchers all the time. Since we have family members on the plan, it's just easier to use their recipes. Everyone always wants to know how many points are in the meal. I also use Skinnytaste. It has some great recipes, using everyday ingredients. It also has the weight watcher points with each recipe.
I like allrecipes.com and cooks.com. They are great places to find very basic recipes, and I often use those recipes to build my own. I enjoy reading through the recipes on the Food Network site, but more often than not, they involve so many ingredients (many of them expensive) that making enough for 4 is more expensive than going out to eat. Lately I've become a fan of some food blogs. I like the more personal perspective one gets in the blogs.
I like AllRecipes.com too and the Food network - I like the rating system on the first one, as it really does give you a good idea on what it is going to taste like before you make it. I am terrible when it comes to deciding what I fancy eating!
My favourite is allrecipies.com which has already been mentioned. I love that it is user submitted recipes, and there are reviews and comments from other people, including tips on how to improve the recipe and also how to substitute weird ingredients. Its a well designed site, and you can even do a search based on what ingredients you have and want to include in your meal.
I usually prepare foods I am familiar with and even when trying a different dish I generally just wing it. However, last year I discovered pattipan squash at the farmer's market and had to figure out what to do with it. Usually I just google the ingredient and look at different sites until I find something I want to try, though I mostly look at technique for preparation, not so much the ingredients since I will put in only what I like anyway. I have bookmarked several recipes on the Whole Foods website though. When you sign up you can save the ones you're interested in to your own recipe file on the site.
