A struggle I had cooking was that so many of the recipes are pretty lousy, most distressingly including no pictures.

One of the things I really like about Blue Apron and Plated are how easy to follow their instructions are and the inclusion of 7 pictures (6 steps plus the finished dish).

For example, here is a really tasty, easy-to-cook "go to" salmon recipe: https://dusyefwqqyfwe.cloudfront.net/public_uploads/recipe/r...

(Plated seems to have started making its recipes harder to find/access)

And yummy "go to" pork and beef meals from Blue Apron:

https://www.blueapron.com/recipes/seared-pork-roast-with-sma...

https://www.blueapron.com/recipes/seared-steaks-with-sauteed...

I haven't tried Blue Apron or Plated but looking at those links the thing that appeals most to me is that it explains the timing. I tend to have trouble getting everything finished at about the same time without something being overcooked.

Try a cookbook like Bittman's How to Cook Everything Fast. Practical recipes+instructions on when to prep/cook/prepare other parts of a meal. There's also a couple chapters in the beginning that go over basic kitchen skills and what to stock in your home (oils, herbs, equipment) which can be useful.

Cooking For Engineers (http://www.cookingforengineers.com/) used to be one of my big favorites in that planning aspect but I haven't seen an update in years, sadly.

My current favorite place to get recipes/cooking knowledge - but requires basic cooking skills in the first place - is anything from Kenji from Serious Eats. Usually all my questions and thoughts will be addressed in some of the super-in-depth guides, like the sous vide steak one and the chocolate chip cookie one. http://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab