Busy families looking to stretch their food dollars are discovering they can save time and money by starting or joining a cooking club. Three or four families team up, pool resources and spend part of one day cooking a week’s worth of meals together. It’s a fun way to put nutritious food on the table without spending a fortune.

Here’s how it works:

1.Each family chips in $100 per week.

2.The group determines kitchen host and shopping captain.

3.The shopper visits a warehouse club, such as Sam’s Club, to locate all items for a week’s worth of meals.

4.The group prepares a week’s worth of meals in one afternoon.

Tips

To help families and the home chef start their own cooking club, here are some helpful tips and recipes.

• Alternate who does the shopping (it’s often easiest for the kitchen host to shop).

• Take note of the common ingredients in the recipes, add them up and have one person chop or slice it all at one time.

• Look for large quantity serving recipes to get best results. Simply multiplying ingredients may not yield the best results.

• It’s usually quickest for one cook to work on making one dish and then divide that into family portions.

• Dishes are better defrosted over night in the refrigerator, then heated in the oven or microwave.

Stock up and organize

To make cooking days easier, make sure to keep the basics on hand.

Shelf basics: olive oil, vegetable oil, wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, salt, sugar, honey, black pepper, oregano, red chili flakes, granulated garlic, basil, Italian seasoning, cumin, chili powder, bay leaf, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, chicken broth, ketchup, mustard, peanut butter, jam, brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, BBQ sauce, Tabasco, ranch dressing, black olives, salsa, flour, cornmeal, baking powder, rice

Refrigerator basics: eggs, milk, butter, mayonnaise