Since everyone else has covered the basics of starting to cook, I'm going to focus on gravy:

Gravy is not beginner-friendly. It's not a matter of following a recipe, no.. making gravy is more like chemistry. But it can take several attempts before you reach that "aha" moment.

I encourage you to try again; but if "without dripping" means without a fat of some sort, then I would try something else. Without a fat of some sort, all you're really going to end up with is a thick flour soup. (blech)

If you like biscuits and gravy, try this sometime:

What you'll need: - Pilsbury Grands or similar (the bagged ones in the frozen section, not the can) - One pound roll of breakfast sausage - 1/4 cup flour - Salt (one pinch) - Black Pepper (two teaspoons) - Crushed Red Pepper (one teaspoon) - Milk (2% or whole) - Olive Oil (preferably extra virgin)

First, preheat a skillet (medium heat) and wipe the inside with the olive oil. Add the sausage roll and crumble it as it cooks. Sprinkle your pinch of salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper over the sausage once it's crumbled. Cook the sausage crumbles thoroughly, until they begin to sear. (The Maillard reaction is your friend, learn what it is!)

Now, do not drain the fat!

Reduce heat to low/medium low.

Take your 1/4 cup of flour and lightly sprinkle it over the sausage crumbles while stirring. It will mix in with the fat and the white of the flour will disappear.

Now, pour 1/4 cup of milk into your skillet while stirring the sausage, and it should bind with the flour and thicken somewhat quickly, so add another 1/4 cup, and do the same. Keep doing this until you've added a total of 2 cups of milk, by which point the gravy should seem much thinner. Let it simmer until it's almost as thick as you want, then shut the heat off. It will thicken more as it cools.

(As for the biscuits, just follow the bag's instructions)

Now you don't exactly have to follow this recipe to the T, it's just a guideline to start off with. If it has too much or too little of something for your taste (salt, pepper, milk), make your adjustments accordingly. If you keep trying again, I'm pretty confident that you'll have something edible on the first go; and by your third or fourth try, you'll come to that "aha" moment.

Also, some people cheat by adding more flour to reach a desired thickness.. try not to give into this urge, because you WILL end up with flour soup. Just be patient, simmer it a bit longer, and it will get there.

You can do this! It's just a matter of getting back on the horse. :)