Cooking and meal advice for a young male?

Buy in bulk when possible. Depending on what you like cooking, though, only some things are worth buying in bulk. I personally like to cook pasta so I always have pasta. Stock up on things, and don't always buy things when you need it (save for special occasions and what not).There are some substitutes for ingredients if you don't have a particular one. I find that the internet is best helpful for recipes; you don't have to follow them exactly, I like to tweak them all the time. Doesn't mean it'll turn out worse.

Congratulations on being half trained by your mother to actually cook! That is a rarity now.What I am going to suggest is a slightly expensive cookbook. It will become your bible and live with you for the rest of your life. I need a new one as mine got drowned.Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. It costs around $50 at any of the bookstores. It is red and white plaid.I have had mine since about 1970. I had a small mishap with water in the kitchen and mine got saturated and is all warped and pages stuck together. Dang, I miss that thing.

I can cook my *ss off and I believe the simplest meals for someone in your situation to prepare would be anything based on ground meat.Tacos, Hamburgers, Spaghetti, etc...You can do little things to these meals to make them totally different every time... Email me if you would like some recipe's...