Do you genuinely want to branch out with cooking, or is it more "well, MMM says to cook your own food so I guess I have to, sigh"? It also sounds like you've gotten hold of some bad cookbooks/cooking websites, as they exist in far greater numbers than good ones. I also began cooking in childhood, but even in the eighties I found I was a rarity when I got to college and the majority couldn't even warm up something in the microwave, so I don't condemn anyone not having the skills. If you truly want to learn to cook, or cook better, I recommend Michael Bittman's How to Cook Everything. It literally starts out from very basic stuff and builds on skills. If you can't scramble an egg, there's no way you're going to make a successful soufflé.
As for Oklahoma Oprah the Pioneer Woman ... she'll do in a pinch. Just don't believe that a multimillionaire rancher's wife (before she began making her own millions) is just like you and me. ;D
Thanks for the suggestions everyone :) I'll probably check out the Pioneer Woman sometime. I want to point out that I was just answering how someone may not really be able to cook, since that seemed unfathomable to an earlier poster. My DH has cooked for years, and doesn't realize the kind of basic knowledge I'm lacking. For example, within the last few months I learned that when you put oil in a pan to cook something, you can tell it's warm enough by tilting the pan around and when it runs in a liquid form, that's good. I just kept throwing in water droplets until they really sizzled, which is more of a pain. I also just scrambled my first eggs a month ago (but I don't like eggs, so there had never been a reason for me to do so before). And I cook b/c we live in the middle of nowhere and I like eating food every day. Done with this foam though!
Overheard at Work:
Guy got a brand new girlfriend he's quickly moving in with him. With her two sons, and his son. The main reason is so they can split bills b/c his last gf moved out and he was worried with his income about covering the high utilities. So then they proceed to get a new TV package for 2 additional TVs, a whole house DVR, upgrade the satellite package, and he takes a morning off work to wait for the guy to install all of this (he's paid hourly). They use free wood for heat, and don't have a water bill...literally all they pay for his electric, tv, and internet. I'm fairly certain his bills are not any lower than they would have been before this new girl.