One recipe I think is very helpful is a home-made red sauce (aka gravy or spaghetti sauce). You'll find out by trial and error what you like, but for the most part they consist of canned tomatoes, onions, garlic, and usually some meat.

This is a good recipe to get under your belt because you can make a large batch fairly cheaply (easily under $20) and it will provide meals (with the addition of pasta) for many meals. Also, if you want to branch out to other recipes, eg stuffed shells or baked ziti just to name a couple, you can make use of this sauce. I learned to make this from watching my grandmother over a decade ago and honestly it's been in my fridge or freezer pretty much continuously since:

Ingredients

3x Tbs olive oil

3x medium-large yellow or white onions, diced

half a head of garlic, minced

3x 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes

Water

1x 6oz can tomato paste

1x tsp white sugar (optional - to taste)

Salt & black pepper to taste

Meat (optional, but recommended)

10-14 oz boneless country cut pork ribs

1 lb sausage (hot or italian)

Instructions

In a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil. Once it's shimmering, add the onion, and a generous pinch of salt. Cook over medium-high heat until the onions are translucent - stop before they start browning.

Add the garlic and cook until it's fragrant. You don't want to brown anything here.

Once you can really smell the garlic cooking, add the canned tomatoes, along with 2-3 tomato cans worth of water. (I generally go for 2 1/2, but it doesn't need to be precise.)

Add the tomato paste, and stir to combine.

At this point I usually add a bit of white sugar to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes. This is another point of imprecision - I don't ever add the same amount, and it will depend on what tastes 'right' to you. If you're not sure how much sugar to add, just add a little bit, and taste the finished sauce - if it's too sour, then add a bit more sugar.

Part II - The Meat

Up to this point, the recipe is vegan. If you want to skip the next part, you'll definitely end up with a tasty red sauce. Nothing lacking about it whatsoever.

However, if you want to add a bit more to it, and make it really hearty (and make my Nana proud), you can add some meat to it:

In a heavy skillet, brown the country cut ribs on each side (about 2 minutes for each side.) Add to the sauce.

Brown the sausage (about 3-5 minutes for each side) and add it to the sauce.

Now, bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce to a bare simmer, and cook for 3 to 3 1/2 hours. It's really interesting to taste the sauce as it 'matures' over that time period - the raw tomato taste you get at the beginning really mellows out, and the sweetness of the onions rounds things out beautifully.

That's it - it's really pretty simple. The whole thing will keep in your fridge for up to a week, 10 days, or so - but I recommend freezing individual portions of what you don't eat in the first few days, so you can thaw and use as needed.