Internet "Cookbooks"

I bought my first computer in late 1990, only months before the World Wide Web was first established. Actually, it's rather interesting to Google "internet history" and read a bit about it. As much as I used my computer for all kinds of things such as genealogy and photography research, I didn't discover the usefulness of it for everyday things until rather recently.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I was still buying cookbooks and dragging out that old red and white checkered version until as recently as a year or two ago. THEN, I discovered the many websites that are tailor made for those of us who like to eat at home but aren't crazy about spending hours over the stove. Now, I don't want you to think I've thrown out the old stand-by: Better Homes and Gardens. Not by a long shot. In fact, about 5 years ago after purchasing a new one, I pulled out my favorite pages from the original (my 1964 version), added hole reinforcers and included these stained, dog-eared pages to my new 1998 version. I just HAVE to use my old pages on preparing a turkey for Thanksgiving and I'm convinced the bird would never be the same if I used any other recipe!

A couple years ago, I received the "Kraft food & family" magazine in the mail and my cooking hasn't been the same since. I totally agree with their own self-proclamation (and subtitle) of "Deliciously Simple. Everyday". By and large, the recipes ARE delicious, simple and fit for everyday living. Naturally, the ingredients are heavily peppered with Kraft products and oft-times the Kraft version is the only one available.

It wasn't long before I read the fine print and discovered that all these magazine recipes were on line and MANY MANY more as well. For starters in using an internet cookbook, try http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/Pages/home.aspx. The search box, when clicked, allows you to browse by recipe category, then recipe type. I prefer to simply type into the search box the main ingredient for my meal and up pops hundreds of choice recipes.

This morning I checked out my freezer and saw that I have several bags of home blanched and frozen broccoli that I need to use before it suffers freezer burn. After searching the Kraft website for my favorite vegetable, it came up with 1,135 recipes using broccoli. The recipes typically use between 3 and 9 ingredients and prep time is seldom more than 20 minutes.

There are hundreds of macaroni (or pasta in general) casseroles that my family has come to love -- and ohhhh how I wish I'd had all these about 30 years ago when my children were growing up. Instead of 5 or 6 ingredients, many of the recipes call for one or another brand of Kraft salad dressing. When I first read some of these I could NOT imagine how these unusual dressings were going to make a meal even palatable much less delicious. My frig is now filled with about 10 bottles of various salad dressings; none of which are used for salad.

Lest I allow you to believe that Kraft is the only one, I submit to you that La Choy, Betty Crocker, Campbells, Lea & Perrins, Pillsbury, Weight Watchers, Hellman's and many other names familiar to all have recipe websites. You will also find the Food Network, Cooks.com and Taste of Home.com among many others. For my cooking preferences, however, and the tastes of my family Kraft's recipes and their dynamite web site can't be beat! (No, I'm not related to them!) That's all I have to sound off about  today and, now that Oprah is nearly over, it's time for me to cook.