THIS! Any recipe that has a long list of ingredients, needs different ingredients cooked different ways, uses multiple bowls or pans, or would make me stay in the kitchen for more than an hour is not one I'm interested in. Unless it's REALLY good.

One thing that helps is having decent tools: sharp knives, instant thermometer, good quality pans. Another is an organized home-made cookbook. I have 3-ring binders that I picked up super cheap at the thrift store. I have them color-coded for meat, eggs, vegetables, desserts (lc of course!), and miscellaneous snacks, sauces, and dips. If I get too many notes on a recipe I just edit the original and print. And of course, many dishes don't need a recipe - I make chef salads & stir fries with whatever leftovers I have in the fridge.

But some newbie cooks could really use a mentor. Years ago the Oregonian ran a series of articles called (iIrc) Sam Can Cook. Sam didn't know how to cook real food at first, but he learned. He also got more than a few marriage proposals.

They could also use easy-to-understand recipes. When I was writing a recipe column for the local paper (unfortunately not lc as I hadn't discovered it yet) I would have my non-cook husband read the recipes. If he didn't understand something I would change it to something he could understand.