Cooking from scratch for me, is integrally linked with meal planning. I have resisted meal planning for years, but in the last couple of months my life has transformed, now I have finally caved.
By knowing, in advance, what we are having each night, we no longer eat pasta or something with chips EVERY night. 5-6 in my house is always hellish, filled with over tired hungry, bickering children, and flitting in and out from activities with the children, and if I don't even decide what I can be bothered to cook till then, invariably we ate processed crap, daily.
I find it means I have defrosted the right meat, early enough, as I know what that is, the day before. The slow cooker is my friend. And I would also consider that we eat a meal cooked from scratch most nights, but that cooking may have happened a different day. So if I cook a Bolognaise sauce, I will cook double, and pop the excess into a lasagne, that can be made at the same time. It can be got out of the freezer that morning, and its final cook, to heat through, and cook the topping done on the day we eat it. Sausage casserole, only tales 10 minutes out of my morning to brown the sausages, before chucking it in the slow cooker with some chopped onion, carrot and tinned tomatoes, with a handful,of herbs and grains to thicken, then left on low all day. Shepherds pie filling I slow cook one day, then serve the following day, once the mash has been popped on top.
Thai green curry, if I am allowed to cheat a little, and use paste, is exactly as quick as using a jar. Stir fried chicken with mini corn and mange tout, on a bed of rice is again cooked from scratch, but no more challenging than a ready meal! Build your repertoire slowly, then plan, plan, plan. It puts the right ingredients in the fridge, and lets you get your head in gear for that night's meal, during the day.
And yes, in my head, ready rolled pastry still counts as cooking from scratch, almost!!