The pictures of food in food commercials are not pictures of real food, 99% of the time. There are companies that make (very expensive) plastic replicas of food dishes that would fool most anyone in pictures. They can make the colors better, the shine brighter, and in general make it look better than the real food.
Costco Kirkland cheese pizza, and I pile my own stuff on it. 4 pizza's for 8$ or so.
For $8 you get 4 of some sort of frozen pre-made pizza crust, topped with a small amount of sauce, sparely sprinkled with cheese, and a few pepperoni pieces. For $25 at Costco, I can buy flour, yeast, tomato sauce, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese enough to make 20 pizzas in half-pan size (1/2 of a full baking sheet, which are also sold at Costco). I've got a good pizza crust recipe, and we just make our own. I literally do not remember the last time we bought pizza, although I know it has been in the last year. Our grandkids ask for pizza when they visit (it's been awhile), and they all get pizza from restaurants somewhat regularly.
Costco also has decent Italian Sausage, Ham, Onions, Mushrooms, Bell Peppers, and most things people enjoy on pizza. My wife loves "Pesto Primavera," which ingredients are shamelessly pilfered from Cottage Inn; and Costco carries everything we need for that.
There is nothing like making your own food for Cheap Eats. Nothing. Any time you are paying someone else to make it, cost is added. For the cost of a Ribeye dinner in a nice restaurant, with a couple drinks, I can feed my family the same meal, with a bunch of drinks. But I do look forward to having someone serve me food and drinks in a fine dining setting, again. I won't be looking for Cheap Eats, though.
