However, I have found that I make really good vegetable soup. Tasty. Which leads me to the conclusion that I grew up with a mother that can't cook.
My mom's veggie soup: Dump a bunch of canned whatever into a pot. Add a can of tomato juice. Simmer the whole bloody day. Add some kind of pasta. Beg your daughter (me) to show up with a loaf of homemade bread to take people's minds off the awfulness.
My veggie soup: Saute some chopped onions and garlic. Add some diced celery and sliced carrots. Dump in a couple of cartons of beef stock, some diced potatoes, bay leaf, crushed red pepper, paprika, parsley flakes, pepper. Simmer 'til the carrots are almost done. Add a bunch of frozen whatever - I like green beans, broccoli, corn, asparagus, and peas - and a can of tomato paste. Cook just 'til the frozen veggies are crisp-tender. Simple, filling, healthy, yummy, cheap, and I get leftovers.
I have also discovered that fresh spinach is a whole different animal than the canned cow-pies my mother used to douse with vinegar and put on the table, and it is possible to do more with sweet potatoes besides bake them in butter and brown sugar and cover them with marshmallows.
My mom can do awesome things with dessert (give her a cake mix, some instant pudding, and a carton of Cool Whip and you're in for Nirvana) but her main dishes need some work.