The Betty Crocker Cookbook

Browse over 9000 recipes, no internet needed either. Select up to two ingredients you have on hand and get a list of recipes that include them. Email recipes. Get nutrition info for each recipe.

8,500+ Drink & Cocktail Recipes

This slick little app will have you preparing drinks like a pro in no time. Browse drinks alphabetically or by category or simply type in ingredients and get a list of drinks you could make. Save/email your favorites. Get into the drink-shaking groove by shaking your device for a random recipe.

170,000+ Recipes - BigOven

This massive search engine recipe app does require internet connection.  It has a whopping 170,000 user-submitted recipes, so you'll never get bored. The “Leftover Wizard” allows you to simply type in three ingredients and Big Oven will come up with recipes containing usually at least two of those ingredients. Choose US or Metric measurements. Get inspiration by selecting “Random Recipe” or “What’s for dinner?". You also get one-touch shopping list creation, nutrition information, and the ability to email, tweet, favorite, and/or rate each recipe.

Woman's Day Cooking Assistant

This is a full-featured and search-engine style app. Touch “Featured” to read multi-recipe articles such as ‘10 Terrific Lunches for Work’ or ‘Father’s Day Menu: Beer and Recipe Pairings’. Touch “Search” to browse by key word, cuisine, quick and easy, holiday, budget, low cal, and more. Each recipe has one-touch shopping list creation, nutrition information, and the option to email/favorite the recipe. The “Tips n’ Tools” section is a cool bonus -- learn about kitchen equipment, herbs and spices; get a cooking time calculator, and more. No internet connection needed.

Epicurious Recipes & Shopping List

Access 30,000 recipes, searchable by keyword. Filter by ingredients you have on hand or by health requirement (low fat, gluten-free, vegetarian, etc.). Share and save favorite recipes. Create shopping lists with one tap. The iPad version offers additional features such as cookbook format and nutrition information.

Allrecipes.com Dinner Spinner

The popular site has spawned this popular search-engine recipe app. The spinner makes it fun to discover new recipes along the guidelines you choose (Dish Type, Ingredients, or Desired “Ready In” Time) or just shake to spin and get random recipes. Or simply type what you’re looking for into the search box. You can email favorite recipes to friends, or save them to your Favorites. Nutrition information is given for each recipe. The free app has thousands of recipes from the website; the paid version has them all.

Ucook

It contains 60,000 recipes. Find a recipe you like, and you can email it to a friend, put it in your Favorites, and/or create a one-touch shopping list. Recipes include nutrition information. The On Sale section lists local grocery store specials (if participating). Great idea, but I live in a fairly major city and the closest store listed was 120 miles away. Use their website to watch over 50 instructional cooking videos and print out coupons.

iFood Assistant LITE

You’ll find lots of recipes, but unlike most search engine apps, you also get lots of instructional videos. Browse recipes by prep time, what’s on hand, or healthy lifestyle. Get a one-touch shopping list, email/save recipes, ratings, and more. But it does contain fairly obtrusive ads, and, since this is a Kraft app, you’ll find Kraft items in all the ingredient lists. In addition, in order to use some of the features (such as shopping lists) you need to open a Kraft account. Free, but a little bit of a hassle. Still, it’s worth a free download.

Healthy Recipes - By SparkRecipes

A must for dieters, this app based on the popular SparkPeople website has 190,000 healthy recipes. Filter by category, course, cuisine, occasion, or dietary needs (vegetarian, vegan, lactose free, gluten free, low fat, low carb, or sugar free). User ratings and calories-per-serving are right in the browser listing so you can see them before you even tap to see the recipe. Select the recipe and get detailed nutrition information for each dish.

Whole Foods Market Recipes

Sometimes, half of the battle for me is knowing what to do with the ingredients I have in the cupboard. This app features the "On Hand" search, where you key in what you have on hand and it tells you what you can make. With tons of options when searching for gluten-free, nut-free, or many other specific diet need recipes, it's awesome for moms cooking for kiddos with allergies.

Yes, all free. So many useful apps and imformation, you’d better sync files from ipad to pc just in case. Now, what’s for dinner? let's start with a ipad.