We enjoy entertaining! We have also found that sometimes we have the most fun when we pick foods that are simple. Miniature pizzas are fun, elegant and EASY to make!  To make these little fellas, all you need to do is make or buy your favorite pizza crust. If you are using a crust that requires you to bake the dough before hand, do so. Remove the crust from the oven and cut out circles using a round cookie or biscuit cutter. Then top these little cuties with your favorite pizza toppings and bake according to the directions that you using for your homemade or store bought pizza crust. I topped these with homemade pizza sauce, onion, bell pepper, vegan cheese, and turkey pepperoni. Since they are smaller, you will probably be able to bake them for less time, so watch them. You can also do this will different shaped cookie cutters. Better yet, have a gluten & dairy free pizza making party! Everyone is always impressed by these. They are also great for controlling portions. If you like smaller sized pizzas, feel free to check out my eggplant pizzas's here. Have a fabulous gluten &/ or dairy free day!

         When you think of recipe cards, you may think of your mother or grandmother and the cute little box that was used to store the cards in. There is something about handwritten recipe cards that make me feel good. For a while, it appeared that people were not using them as much, but they are surely making a comeback! While there are a variety of different methods people use for organizing and storing recipes: on the computer, a box, a recipe binder, a notebook etc.  I  have binders and notebooks that I use, which I will discuss in another post, but today I would like to discuss recipe cards. 

The awesome pros of using recipe cards: 

They are...

• Small and can travel easily - I bring my fold-able recipe card holder (shown below) with me in case I want or need to make something when I am not at home.
• Terrific for writing down recipes that do not require a plethora of steps or ingredients - This is cool because sometimes I don't want to use a whole sheet of paper for a tiny little recipe :).
• Great way to organize recipes by type. You can use green cards for veggies, pink cards for dessert, blue cards for main dishes etc.
• Perfect for attaching to the hood of your oven with a magnet. You can do this with sheets of paper, but since the cards are smaller they are not hanging down as low, which reduces the chances of causing a fire.

The not so awesome cons of using recipe cards:

• Can get lost if not organized properly.
• Multiple cards are required for longer recipes.

I oftentimes bring blank cards with me when I am visiting family to jot down the recipes of my childhood. You can even print personalized ones from your computer. I also like to include hand written recipe cards when I am giving baking related gifts.

Here are some of the ways I store and organize my recipe cards:

I love this spiral holder because it folds to stand upright. It makes it so easy to prop it up or lay it flat on the counter while I am cooking.

I got this Paula Deen recipe card binder from Michael's last year for $2.00. It has categories and protective sleeves which make organizing a breeze.

Another great and inexpensive way to store recipes is in a photo album. I got this one from dollar tree. These are so inexpensive that you can have a recipe card album for different categories of food: dessert, salads, favorite main dishes etc. 

A recipe card box works well too. This is how I originally started organizing my recipe cards. I do not use this system as much because I like flipping through my binder or spiral card holders. However, I do still keep some of the cards that I do not use as often inside of this box. I got the box, cards, and filing folders a couple of years ago from dollar tree. I used my label maker to label the food categories. It is another simple and inexpensive way to organize. You can even laminate the cards to protect them if you decide to use this system.

I place my cards in this little basket so that I can grab them quickly and begin cooking.

As you can see, recipe cards are just one of the many ways to organize your recipes. How do you store your recipes? I would love to hear what works best for you.