I try to make as much as I can from scratch. I have been moving away more and more from most "ready made" foods because, frankly, the stuff you make yourself tastes better. About the only ready made meal I make any more is cans of soup (not a lot of soup eaters in our house, so an entire batch for me goes to waste), pancake mix, and frozen waffles in the AM for the kids. Okay, breakfast is pretty much the exception across the board, as is bread (I don't have the time to make bread on a regular basis).

Fairly regular favorites include: pasta sauce (bacon & onions - yumm); teriyaki beef; flank steak; tandoori chicken; irish lamb stew; beef carbonade; fish fry; maple glazed salmon; jambalaya.

Less frequent foods that are, or are becoming, traditions/comfort food: New Year's eve chili night; hoppin' john; no-knead bread; mussels in white wine; bbq ribs; chocolate chip cookies; fresh fruit crumbles.

We don't have a ton of "family cooking events" other than those centered around the holidays in some form: Thanksgiving, Passover, Channukah, New Year's, the kid's birthdays (they get to pick what he have for dinner that night), and so on. I suppose having more would require us to be doing other things less. :)

Hmm, meat cakes, eh? Sounds tasty. I may have to check that out.