Mark Bittman provides excellent guides for beginning cooks in the form of his various books (
How to Cook Everything,
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, and
How to Cook Everything: The Basics) and his NYTimes column,
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/dining/18mini.html. He emphasizes learning methods and techniques, which I think is important; once you know these things, you can look in your pantry, see what you have, and put something together. I also like having his books around as references; if I can't think of what to do with the pound of turnips I picked up at the farmer's market, I have a guide to go to. The
Joy of Cooking is also a great cookbook to have around in that regard.
It's good to have recipes to follow when you're starting out; as you learn the various cooking methods, you'll need the recipes less. This also allows you to embrace shopping seasonally and increases the variety of foods you'll feel comfortable eating. I ate a lot of parsnips and turnips this winter because I knew how to cook them. I also ate a lot of dried beans because I figured out that cooking dried beans wasn't the hassle I thought it was (thanks again to Mark Bittman). This summer, I'll continue being adventurous at the farmer's market.
Another key to improving yourself in the kitchen is self-reflection. What worked about the recipe that you tried? What didn't? How would you adjust the seasoning the next time, or was it just right? As you get more comfortable with cooking, you may find yourself tinkering with recipes more.
Cooking well takes practice. The more you practice, the less time you will spend prepping. I can put together a mirepoix (onion, carrot, celery) in under 3 minutes. I used to be really bad at peeling potatoes, and would avoid doing it if possible, but lately I have been peeling more things in general (carrots, parsnips, turnips) and have felt more comfortable with peeling potatoes. Beyond that, it's only through actually cooking that you can begin to recognize various things--like when butter is starting to turn brown, when a yolk is set, when onions are carmelized, when a pancake is ready to be flipped. Sure, there may be mistakes along the way, but trust me--we've all fucked something up in the kitchen. The first meatloaf I ever made was a gray, inedible blob.
And watch cooking when you get a chance. Mark Bittman has videos galore. Watch some
Good Eats with Alton Brown. The Food Network has some okay shows--I like
Barefoot Contessa,
Everyday Italian, and
Molto Mario (if you can catch it; they might have taken it off the air completely now). Watch how they break down an onion, a carrot, celery, and various other things, so that you can take what you've seen and put it into practice.
I'll post some simple recipes when I get a chance.
Oh, and a piece of advice I gave Martian when he was starting out--having good tools makes a difference. A good, sharp chef's knife is essential.