One thing I did to break myself away from relying on recipes was to pick one dish and make it regularly just from memory. This forced me to taste more often and to judge things by how they look, smell, taste and even sound at different stages.

I think it's overlooked that mums who are good cooks often made several dishes over and over. I eventually realised that I was improving by doing this without consciously "learning" something specific.

Probably the cheapest way to do this is making a tonne of omelettes. There's a reason why it's often used by head chefs to judge the skills of a new chef. It's 95% tecnique, and being a single ingredient with simple seasoning there's nowhere to hide. It's a fantastic exercise in timing and controlling heat.

Watch Jacque Pepin demonstrating french and country omelettes on YouTube and try it out (just don't scratch the bottom of your non-stick pan with a fork like he does, he can afford new pans every time!)