These days, everyone is looking for new ways to pinch pennies and live greener. Since my five month old's bedtime is around 7pm, I just don't have the time to dine out anymore. Shopping at Costco and making meals from scratch has been a huge money saver for our family and for some of my friends – I've heard so many folks are saving money this way I'd venture to call it a “recession trend.” I was going to do a post on “dining in” socially but as I was doing my research, I discovered a trend I was previously unaware of: cooking clubs! At first I misunderstood the term, and thought this was a purely social type club where participants shared recipes and meals together, like an eating club (a fun idea in its own right). I quickly learned that these types of cooking clubs should really be called “food preparation clubs.”

Cooking clubs are springing up all over the country because busy professionals and parents want to dine in more often. Between school schedules, work travel, soccer practice, late meetings and long office hours most people don't have the time to cook a healthy meal each night. So folks are getting together on Sunday afternoons to cook a week's worth of meals to save money, go greener, promote family togetherness and live healthier. Spending time with others who have the same goals is fun and provides motivation to stay on task. These clubs should not only be for those with children, either! When I was single, doing something like this with girlfriends would have been a great idea – I wish I'd thought of it then. Many busy singles work so hard they skip lunch, spend too much on take-out and eat out more often than they'd like when they could easily (and more healthfully) dine in and brown-bag leftovers from the night before for lunch at work.

The idea is to cook for a few hours and prepare the basic components of the coming week’s dinners while enjoying friends' company and maybe even a glass of wine while you work. Logistically, you might want to limit the group to three or four friends, decide which day of the week works best and rotate who will host the club. Decide on two or three recipes to be cooked, and create a grocery list of what each member should bring. Depending on how many members you have in the club, each member can submit a recipe or you can rotate whose recipe will be used. You will need to have enough ingredients to make dishes for each member. If you have 4 attendees for example, you'll need to be able to make 4 of every recipe. Be sure to include the ingredients for the meals you will cook on your grocery list, and what the hosting member will provide, if anything. Freezer safe containers and food storage bags should definitely be on your list.

Even if you are skilled chefs, you'll want to start simple, quick, healthy and economical meals. If you've been friends for a while, there are sure to be recipes you've been meaning to share. When you are hosting, read through each recipe and check your kitchen for the necessary equipment and gadgets. Be sure to provide a clean, uncluttered kitchen, great background music, and something small to snack on. Brew coffee if you are hosting in the morning, or pick up some wine for an evening event. When you are a guest chef, make sure that you help with the clean up and bring anything that won't be provided by the host or hostess.

You can start by hosting a simple, low-commitment “cooking party.” Find some folks who you think would be interested and ask them to send you their favorite economical freezer-friendly recipes. Put your shopping lists together, and let the cooking begin! I predict you are in for delicious results.