Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

This is an excellent idea. I run an Indian cooking school in Chelsea and am introducing a class in May where people can come and learn to make 5 or 6 Indian dishes which they prepare in class, and then take food home with them. They get to have food for the week (or more if they freeze some) without even having to go shopping or doing any clean up. I think that is quite a good deal.
http://www.Indianculinarycenter.com

This is a great idea! Most of my recipes could feed at least 4-6 people and there are only two of us at home. Planning is key!

Hi Jen.
I am always excited to discover people like yourself who realize the "genius" in Cooking With Friends. I run a website, e-newsletter and cooking community called the Cooking WIth Friends Club. Here's the link: www.cookingwithfriendsclub.com and have indeed been embracing this lifestyle for many years. As for your menu, I think the soup is especially terrific. Soup is the perfect food to make with a friend -- We've found that it can be made in bulk, it doesn't cost a lot and it freezes and then reheats extremely well. The Baked Ziti with sausage is also a good bet, as it can be frozen in individual portions. I would think the Pork stew would be best made to enjoy as a night's dinner with maybe a lunch or another dinner as leftovers. If you're planning to get together for the day, then your menu is certainly doable. If you only have a few hours, we've found it best to focus on fewer meals that yield higher amounts.
Thanks for sharing your cooking with friends excitement.
Alison

colts, we've been doing this as well with my mom and dad. Since my son moved away and i'm still used to cooking for him and all his friends, I freeze the leftovers and invite my mom and dad over for dinner every Sunday and she takes home all my frozen leftovers. She hates to cook but is a great bargain clothes shopper so she brings me clothes, I give her food - win/win!!

Economic difficulties cause people to reevaluate current behavior. Sometimes it is cheaper to cook at home, other times it is not. A lot of ethnic food in larger cities can be a better deal. Instead of fresh ingredients for fried rice, you can get a ton of it at most Chinese places for about $6.

Look at the ads, cook your meals around them and consider less expensive cuts of meat. Flank steak v. filet, Pork instead of steak etc..

You can always use fillers to stretch it out a little as well.

This is a good idea though.

Grandma Crocetti's Italian fried dough cookies., cenci. So good. And the best part was the powdered sugar you got all over yourself when you ate the cookies.

ice cream cones

My mom's spongecake before she filled it :)

rugalach
my mom's lemon meringue pie
rice pudding
cup custards at Horn and Hardart

I was always most excited when my mother made her chocolate chip mondel bread / mondel brot. I certainly have not outgrown it - now, I make it myself (not too often!).

I loved the peanut butter cup sundae from Friendly's ice cream. two scoops of vanilla with chocolate fudge and peanut butter sauce, with whipped cream and a reese's peanut butter cup on top!

Corn flake Wreathes, and I will never get sick of them

i always loved chocolate cake :)