I taught myself to cook, too--I was living on my own, engaged, due to be married in a year, and I didn't have a CLUE how to cook. I learned from books and much trial and error (lots of error), and it took about a year before I really got a feel for it.
Stir fry is great for learning to cook. It's economical, yummy, easy to modify, and foolproof. Put some rice in a rice cooker, some veggies and meat in a fry pan, and season it with whatever strikes your fancy. You
can't screw it up. Even if you have no skillz whatsoever, it still tastes awfully good.
More specifically, my stir fry looks like this:
Chop up meat (beef, pork, or chicken). Put in wok with enough oil to cover the whole bottom, fry until it no longer looks dangerous to eat(2-3 minutes). Add chicken/beef broth (enough to cover, about 2 cups), and cut up vegetables (small pieces are good). I recommend onion, green pepper, broccoli, carrots, water chestnuts, and baby corn. Season with soy sauce, garlic, onion salt, and ginger. (With those seasonings you really
can't screw it up--but go light the first time around. A couple tablespoons of soy, a teaspoon or so of the garlic powder and onion salt (alternatively, a clove or so of garlic, minced), half a teaspooon of ginger). Let the whole mess cook until the vegetables look tender, and then add a tablespoon of corn starch mixed with a little water to thicken up the sauce, and serve it over rice.
It's very easy, very foolproof, and very yummy. And it refrigerates well--the recipe I just quoted will go for 4-6 person-meals. Great for making lunches for the week. (Also great for learning to be a creative cook... you can mod the living daylights out of stir fry, and whatever you do, it'll
still taste good.)
Also, I recommend
www.allrecipes.com . They have a lot of recipes from Normal People, a great system by which people review and comment on stuff, and lots of useful articles for n00b cooks. (upper right... the 'advice' tab.)
I also recommend a cheap paperback cookbook. Mine was only $7 or so--not much compared to what you spend on the food you'll use
learning to cook! Mine is "Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook" or some such. Anyway, most general cookbooks give you good background on how to season things, how to safely modify recipes, how long chicken can sit in the fridge before it isn't safe anymore, and whether broccoli freezes well. There's lots of information in those mom-lookin' cookbooks that's useful.
... oh, and if Hattrick says anything in this thread about how to barbeque, LISTEN TO HIM. That guy makes some AWESOME barbeque.
) for instance. If you want to cook the sauce(i.e. make it from scratch), it would not be difficult to find a recipe that is easy to follow. And if you screw it up, no harm no foul, you can have a jar of prego standing buy. The noodles are easy (if you can't boil noodles by following the directions on the package, stop trying to cook now).
