I learned some real basic stuff growing up in the home and in home-ec such as making a cake or cookies, hamburger helper or Mac and cheese. These teach real basic cooking skills which are needed for any recipe. Things like learning what a cup or teaspoon is and following directions.

I didn’t know much coming out of high school but I learned a lot from watching a lot of food network and just trying recipes that looked good. Take it slow and try relatively easy recipes like maybe a casserole or making an omlette. Watch videos on how do things if they are confusing. No matter how long you’ve been cooking there will always be more to learn. I recently tried making biscuits instead of buying the ones in a can and that was tough for me to understand but I watched some videos and after a couple tries I got it mostly figured out. Don’t be afraid to ask people questions too about anything specific.

Crock pot meals are great to try as well. A crock pot is a good investment but you can probably buy one at a garage sale or a thrift store. Hell, ask someone in the family or a friend if they have one laying around they don’t want anymore.

Good Eats is also a wonderful show I enjoyed on food network. That show will show you the ins and outs of many subjects and explain the why. I think you might enjoy it. I think they have the old episodes on their site for free.