Ugh, I've been resolving to do this for years, but my stupid mom (just kidding, love you, mom!) doesn't have written recipes for a lot of our family favorites. I've hounded her into documenting some of them, but she actually has to make the dish to do it. Slow progress.

One idea: instead of photos of the dishes, try illustrations? Photos are great when you want to know what an unknown dish will be like, but with something well known and loved, an illustration might have more personality and you can add in family jokes or stories that way. For example, my mom's enchiladas will forever be associated with the adorable mouse we found in the garage once when she made them, so for that recipe, I would draw a mouse licking taco sauce off his whiskers in a recycling bin :)

When my great grandmother came to the U.S. from Mexico, she worked as a nanny to a wealthy German family and kept an amazing notebook of recipes and traditions, tips, etc. that she learned during her 20+ years of working for them. Since I am the only family member from my generation who cooks, my grandmother, who had been keeping the notebook after my great grandmother passed, handed it down to me about 5 years ago. It is very tattered and several pages have torn off, so I told myself I would cook through it and digitalize it. That has been on the back burner, but Nikki's resolution has re-inspired me!

My cousin did this for our family a few years ago. It's AWESOME! She just did a simple, text only version and had them spiral bound. I use mine ALL THE TIME. Do it! You won't regret it!

Literally a week before Christmas my little brother asked me to compile a book of recipes from my mother and my own (I'm a baker). He was a little disappointed to get a gift card for Christmas but I promised him the recipe book for his April birthday. I need to get working on it!

How about using one of those websites like shutterfly to create a book w/pictures and text? I've been seeing livingsocial deals for calendars through shutterfly although that may not be the most economical in making multiples.

My mother put together one of these and gave each of us a copy one Christmas. I pull it out from time o time when I want to make one of her dishes.

I recently did a project compiling all of my great-great-grandmother's recipes. My great-great-grandmother and grandfather started a bakery in Cleveland, OH sometime in the late 20s - early 30s, and these recipes have been passed down for four generations now.

After taking a book-making course at the San Francisco Art Institute, I created an edition of five cookbooks that included:
- scans of handwritten recipes
- scans of photographs
- digitalized and archived recipe library
- transcribed interviews with, and scans of letters, from family members

If anyone is looking for a hand-made book to preserve your recipes and your history, please contact me for photo examples and resume. I am able to do physical and digital archiving, binding, design, etc.

https://www.facebook.com/geenabg

One of the best gifts I've ever gotten was when on Christmas my aunt typed up all of my grandmother's recipes (which included a lot of other family recipes). Not only do I refer to it all the time, but at family gatherings when I ask for a recipe for a dish someone brought it's very common to hear someone say "it's in grandma's cookbook so you already have the recipe" which is awesome.

I love this resolution! One of my challenges this year is simply to "deal with the recipe book." I don't know exactly how to go about it, but compiling a book of photos, scanned images, and text sounds like a great idea and a perfect solution to my lack of organization. I would definitely include, like downtheblvds suggested, family interviews and stories behind the recipes. The recipe book becomes a family heirloom, as well as a source for kitchen inspiration.

I did this for my sister this past Christmas - I have never seen anyone cry so many happy tears. I debated doing it for nearly a year, and I am so glad I did it. It was a great way to get my mother and aunts involved. I used Blurb, and was delighted with how it came out. I scanned the recipes and then typed them out. On the opposite page, I put a family photo. If I were to offer some advice, it would be to look at a lot of cookbooks to get a sense of how you'd like it designed.