Glad you mentioned the cost of good chicken soup. I use 10 pounds of chicken to make a 12 quart soup. No powder or frames fro me. I then use the soup chicken for making knishes, chicken croquettes or chicken salad later in the week.
We don’t buy or use prepared food with the exception of Challah in warm weather (we do bake Nov-April). We are down to 4 adults in the house and I figure that we spend approx $25 per adult per Shabbos excluding wine. We do not generally make cholent, Warm weather Shabbos lunch main course is generally a salad topped with cold grilled chicken or beef, lamb or veal shishkebabs. I smoke my own deli meats (the joy of living in the country with a small smokehouse in the yard). We also do not serve both fish and liver at the same meal. One Friday night, one Shabbos lunch.