Have you ever had trouble locating Aunt Elizabeth's Fabulous Pie Crust Recipe from within your box of recipe cards? Solve the problem by organizing your favorite family recipes into a custom Family Cookbook. Not only will you be able to quickly and easily locate the perfect recipe next time you are in the mood for Uncle John's Cheese Dip, you'll also be able to share the history of the dish itself and include pictures of the relative who created it.

Getting Started

1. Begin by gathering your favorite family recipes and compiling them into a word document. This will allow you to organize and spell check them before you create your book.
2. Contact the relatives whose recipes you are using and ask them to tell you a story about each dish. Also, ask them to send you a recent photo of themselves to include in your cookbook.
3. If possible, also take a picture of each dish to include in your book.

Creating Your Family Cookbook

1. Create a new book in Picaboo and select the Cookbook theme. This theme will fill your book with the Cookbook Layout which gives you space to include a small picture of the dish, the title of the recipe, the number of servings, the cooking time, the list of ingredients, the instructions, and a special comment about the recipe.
2. Copy and paste the text for each recipe into the cookbook layout you have selected.
3. Across from the recipe, select a page layout that will allow you to include pictures of the relative whose recipe you are featuring, photos of the finished dish, and a story about the recipe.
4. Complete each page with a custom background and corners to finish the effect.

When you are finished, be sure to share a copy with all of your out of town relatives so that they can also order a hard bound version.

This is a perfect way to collect each family member's special recipes and it also makes a wonderful gift for newlyweds in your family.