When I went away to college, someone gave me "The Starving Student's Cookbook." It had some simple recipes, but more importantly, it taught me this philosophy of cooking, which I still do nearly 40 years later: just improvise. Recipes are just guidelines; adjust them according to your taste and what you have available.
My wife and I both cook using this philosophy. We just keep a variety of meat, veggies, and starches on hand. We have a full spice rack, but I'd say we use fewer than ten of them on a regular basis. Every day we figure out what to have for dinner and one of us slaps it together in an hour or less. It always turns out good.
I'm always amazed at people who say they can't cook. It ain't rocket surgery.
Men's Health magazine used to have a monthly column with that name. I wonder if they put together a couple of years' worth of recipes and published it as a book.