I never used a recipe book in my life. I abhor them and most of the dishes featured in them are disgusting. I just use simple, honest ingredients and prefer grilling, broiling and sauteing to microwaving or other cooking methods. Basically every meal I make has meat (fish, fowl or beef), vegetables and rice. The seasonings I use most often is lemon, garlic, soy sauce, olive oil, or Lloyd's barbeque sauce. None of those fancy spices whose names you can't even pronounce. Keep it simple and it will taste good every time.
I learned to cook from my bachelor days. I grew up with lousy food (the mess hall food I got in the Marines was much better than what my mother made) and if I had to depend upon my wife, I'd still have to settle for lousy food.
Mom was a "dib" and "dab" cooker who never measured anything. She cooked by sense of smell and recipes were just suggestions to her. I find recipe books useful for ideas, but feel perfectly free to modify as I go.