As mentioned, lasagna is waaaaay too complicated. I can cook and I still do not make lasagna. When I was younger, some company had "lasagna in a box" which showed how to assemble all the ingredients together, and was supposed to be fool-proof- It was still a PITA to assemble and figure out.
There are certain
principles on understanding HOW and why to cook certain things in certain ways that you are lacking right now. Once you understand the principles and they make sense, you will be able to cook almost any recipe better.
As you mentioned, OP: properly browning meat, how long, why it needs to be done a certain way, is one of them. Please do NOT brown a batch of meat to have on hand for several meals UNTIL you know how long to brown the meat. If you ruin this ONE huge batch, then the next several recipes will all be ruined
from the start. 
That's why cooking the meat fast and most of the way through works in a stir-fry or single-skillet recipe.
Give yourself some practice times. Learn to brown meat each time. See how long it takes. When you are unsure,
under-cook, as you can always continue cooking it more in the recipe. You may find it better to
under-cook the meat - so that it continues to cook when combined in the recipe and
flavors the sauce and other ingredients while cooking for another 20 minutes at medium-low heat.
That when added to the sauce
after it is fully cooked, the sauce doesn't get as much flavor. And the meat just kind of sits in the sauce. Distinctions like these come with experimenting and making mental notes. (Or a great cooking show that tells you this.)
Is it a quick cooking recipe, that just needs all the ingredients mixed together and you can add meat that is browned a bit more and just needs 2 minutes to meld the flavors together at medium high heat before the veggies overcook, like a stir-fry? That is possible because stir-frys usually add in chicken broth or beef broth - so the meat flavor is
already incorporated into the sauce component from the start. It's not dependent on getting it from the meat.
Knowing how long to cook meat makes a difference. There are some recipes in which you can overcook the meat. Then there are chilis, which because they are cooked at a low temperature, in moisture and for a long time, it's pretty much impossible to over-cook the meat. Yet, you can burn the whole dish if the temperature is wrong, and it is cooked too high and bottom of the pot gets burned.
Understanding the principle of TEMPERATURE is key. When a recipe says cook at Medium-low heat, it is not arbitrary. It is specified for a reason - so the outsides don't overcook and burn while the inside is still rather raw. Even so, the food requires monitoring and a judgement call. You may need to up the temperature as it doesn't seem it be cooking at all. If the outsides are burning, then you need to lower the heat, no matter what the recipe says. Different stoves & ovens work differently. That takes practice and experience learning that.
If the lasagna requires cooking before layering, how LONG to cook it so that it is not over-cooked when the recipe is finished, is something that takes trial & error.
If it is one of those recipes in which you add the pasta dry & uncooked, then you need to know how to watch the sauce, to make sure there is enough sauce to cook it all the way through, or what to do if there is too much sauce and the layers are just swimming in sauce, and the clock says it's supposed to be done.
Fish is something that is notoriously over-cooked. That is because people don't understand that even when you take it off the fire, the
residual heat in the fish and what it is cooked on continues to keep cooking the fish. If you cook it till its perfect in the pan, by the time you serve it, it will be way over-cooked.
If you like your meats medium, and yet when you serve it, it is medium well, that is the same principle. same with anything that you seem to find you keep "over-cooking" even though you swear it was perfect on the stove.
Learn how to marinate meats (let soak in spiced liquids) for 10 minutes or more. That ONE thing can change and enhance the flavor of meats tremendously. I got a George Foreman grill. I read dozens of reviews. The people who raved about that grill were the ones who marinated their meats before grilling.
My GF grill is now in the bottom of the cabinet, takes up too much room on the counter. BUT, I kept the principle of marinating the meats, when I broil or bake them now instead.
Watching the Food Network taught me to take my meats out of the fridge for about 10 minutes, to take the chill off of them. This way the inside isn't still cold and ends up raw, while the outside of the is cooked to perfection.
It just so happens that those 10 minutes is the
same 10 minutes is what it takes to marinate meat. Well, what do you know!
And when I say marinate meats, I don't mean anything fancy. For boneless chicken breasts or thighs, I toss the chicken in a Ziplock bag and pour in some Italian Dressing, OR ranch dressing, OR blue cheese dressing, just enough to cover the chicken. Marinate for 10 minutes. Take a baking pan and wipe some cooking oil on the bottom so the chicken won't stick to the pan. Take the chicken out of the marinade and place in pan. Pour a couple extra tablespoons of the marinade on top of each piece of chicken. Discard rest of the liquid. Then grill under the oven broiler for 10-12 minutes each side. Or grilled in the GF grill or on a BBQ grill. Instant tasty chicken and sooo easy.
THAT kind of easy recipe is also something to teach your child to cook with you later. I broil a LOT of meats this way: pork chops, lamb chops, steak. With simple sides that can be changed up, it's a quick meal.
Meats also need to "rest" for about 5-10 minutes after cooking. This allows the juices to redistribute inside the meat and stay IN, so it is juicy & flavorful. If you've ever watched an infomercial where they pull the meat out of the gadget and cut into it immediately, and the juices flow all over the cutting board, that is a meat that has not "rested." If the juice is all over the cutting board, then so are the flavors. They will not be in your mouth.
As someone else mentioned, I read a recipe through to see how many steps or ingredients it take. How
long it will take me to prep and do each step.
Whenever possible I do simple recipes or uses shortcuts whenever possible. I don't dice or chop, when I can, I will use pre-diced & chopped frozen veggies. Some veggies can be bought pre-cut & sliced. Yes, it is more expensive, but when learning to
cook, I want to get to the cooking, not take a lot of time
prepping to cook.
For me, I love one-skillet meals. Everything cooked in one pot/pan, with a nice flavorful sauce. Similar to crockpot cooking. I have even taken some crock-pot recipes and just simmered everything on low or med-low, in one deep stock pot, cooked on one burner for about 45 minutes to an hour. What do people think cooks did before the invention of a crockpot?
I also love easy stir-frys. Again, one pan (skillet) recipes. And one does not need a wok to do a stir-fry.
OP, once you learn the fundamental principles of how to cook things and why certain things have to be done in certain ways, then swapping out different ingredients, changing spices, or making shortcuts becomes a breeze.
A great alternative or place to start... boil some nice pasta.. maybe fancy shaped pasta... learn how to do a quick Alfredo Sauce. (heat some flour and oil... when that is ready... add your milk/liquid... and when that starts to thicken (on low) add in your parmesan... salt.. etc.. Or how about some pasta with olive oil (maybe butter) basil, garlic powder... Add some broccoli steamed/boiled in a pot while your are cooking... and a meat (on the grill or braised in the skillet) I did this meal recently, and it beat any similar dish I have had at places like Ruby Tuesdays (our Ruby Tuesdays, one of my limited restaurant options, is actually pretty good on some of their entrees.)
