I wanted to put together a "cooking club" just with my immediate neighbors and did. We came together once a week and decided ahead of time which house to meet at. We combined our money to buy ingredients in bulk that would enable us to cook for an entire month. We would freeze the meals and always had weeks of dinners already prepared. The cost was cut down more than half of what it cost for just me to shop and cook. Saved a ton of money with our cooking club and enjoyed the time together just us girls once a week. Maybe you can do the same only use some of the food you prepare for the freezer meals you would like to give. great way to save lots of money!!!! Also, you can look into recipes that basically make two meals out of one. Like meatball sandwiches one night and the next take the leftover meatballs cut them into pieces add a little more sphagetti sauce pour over cooked rigatoni cover with a layer of grated cheese and bake in oven for a totally different meal. Save money this way too. there is a website that has tons of 2 meals out of 1 meal recipes. Do a search for 2 meals out of 1.