From Scratch...Is it really better?

Tonight on the way home I was not motivated to make dinner.  I had all of the ingredients I needed, but was arriving home later than usual, tired after a very busy day, and an ad came on the radio.  It was for Montana's, a steakhouse up here that we don't mind, and it said, "KIDS EAT FREE ON TUESDAYS SO COME ON IN!"  Come on in, indeed.  To me, it seemed like a plan.

Then, I pulled into the driveway, walked into the house, and was hit with the mommy/wife guilt.  I love to cook for my boys.  I like it when I can pull ingredients together to make a flavorful, healthy dinner.  I enjoy knowing that not only have we saved money by making dinner at home, but we also are probably eating food that is better for us.  As the guilt took over, I took out the ingredients for dinner.

As part of my ongoing list, I am in the process of trying out a new recipe each week for a month.  Last week it was ginger carrot soup, and for tonight I had planned to make spaghetti with turkey meatballs.  I know, it doesn't seem like something new, but for us it was!  We don't usually use ground turkey, and I was also making everything from scratch.  Real tomatoes, chopped mushrooms and onion, sauteed garlic...yum.  I thought it would be difficult and time consuming but it was actually really easy!  It took me less than 20 minutes to throw everything together, and the next thing we knew the meatballs were cooking away in the delicious, aromatic spaghetti sauce. 

When we finally sat down to eat, Kevin's first comment was, "This tastes SO good, there is something different about it!"  I guess making things from scratch really does make it taste better.  Both of my boys scarfed the food down.  Rusty ate a huge helping, as well as all of his corn and strawberries.  I didn't know the kid could pack away that much food. 

I think I will definitely try to do more from scratch in the future.  It really did taste so much better, and it wasn't that much more difficult.  Thanks to my in-laws for the fresh tomatoes, which we used in the sauce.  They definitely added some great flavor!

What dishes do you like to cook from scratch?  What is your easiest, favorite recipe?