Am I the only one that still gets thrown off with the month of February? Even though we had an ‘extra’ day this year I always seem to get behind on everything every year during the last part of February and first part of March!
In an effort to catch up and get back on tract, today is the overall review of last month’s selected website as part of the Website of the Month series (since Wednesday is the first Wednesday of March and time to start sharing a new site!).
February’s site was Tasty Kitchen. If you are not that familiar with it, it is the recipe sharing website started by Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman. It is basically a recipe site with member only uploaded recipes. It is a great way to discover new blogs since a lot of bloggers share their recipes on this site (myself included), but you do not have to be a blogger to share your great recipes!
Here’s what it is all about:
Pictures: Tons
Since most recipes are submitted by food bloggers there are tons of photos! With that said, they are obviously not the same quality photos and not every recipe has a photo but it is strongly encouraged. However, if using Internet Explorer you might have some troubling loading your photo so it is best to use Firefox when using this site.
Prep Time, Cooking Time, and Number of Servings listed: Yes
Every single recipe has this information included. You can even change the number of servings and the recipe ingredients will also automatically change. You can also choose to have the measurements show in Metric or US conversions.
Nutritional Information provided: No
Clear, easy to follow directions and ease of preparation: Yes and No
For the most part the directions are clear and easy to follow. But keep in mind that these are strictly user submitted recipes and therefore the way the recipe is written may not be as formal as a professional recipe. However, the recipes are proof read by a TK employee before they are made visible to the public so hopefully any major errors are caught. The recipes range from extremely easy to more complicated.
Easily available ingredients and budget friendly: For the most part
Since these recipes are member submitted, members just like you and me, most of the ingredients are easy to find and not too expensive but that is not always the case.
Variety of recipes: All types of recipes
This site is huge and has tons or recipes. From homemade hot sauce, to red velvet fudge, to tasty dinner and breakfast recipes, they’ve got it all.
Meal Planning Feature: No
Source of recipes: All recipes are submitted by members
You can view all recipes whither you have a TK account or not but cannot add recipes without setting up an account. As I mentioned above, since a lot of recipes are submitted by other bloggers (bloggers we all know and love), most of these recipes can be trusted as a good, reliable recipe.
Cost: FREE!
Special feature: I love that this site is very friend oriented. When you create an account you can ‘add’ your friends, send them messages, rate recipes, post comments, and add your own recipes. Once you have an account you can save recipes you want to make to your personal ‘cookbook’ as well as save the recipes you share. There is even a TK blog that highlights the site’s recipes. And when you click on a recipe the site ‘recommends’ other related recipes at the bottom. A few things I am not a fan about is there is not print button. Also it is kind of difficult to add recipes (and that is the reason I have so few of my own recipes shared). Instead of being able to copy and paste you have to add in each ingredient and choose from a drop down box the tablespoon, ounce, etc.
In case you missed it here is what I made:
Disclosure: I am not compensated for this review. They are just my thoughts and opinions about a site I love and use!
I need to get on TK more often. So many great recipes!!