Here are some of the meals I like to make for guests. They're mostly make-ahead dishes that can go in the oven, leaving me time for clean-up and visiting with our guests!

Stuffed Shells with Garlic Bread (This is always really well enjoyed by guests!)
Cheesy Chicken Vermicelli (Easy and can be made the night before!)
Oven-roasted Chicken (Great for serving 4-6 people)
Simple Fried Rice  (An easy side dish)
Tammy's Chicken Rice Bake  (Easy, easy, easy! Takes a while to bake though)
Tropical Mixed Fruit  (A beautiful treat!)
Dark Chocolate Cheesecake  (Only for special occasions!)

Here are some of our family's current staple recipes*:

Granola (Always on hand)
Pan-Scrambled Eggs  (A quick breakfast)
Energy Bars  (Always on hand!)
Oven-roasted Chicken  (Joshua's favorite)
Yellow rice  (Makes good chicken fried rice, too!)
Chicken Gravy over Egg Noodles (To use up leftover chicken...)
Tammy's Easy Pizza 
Italian Cheese Bread (Oh, so yummy!)
Taco Salad   (Easy and delicious!)
Cooked veggies (no recipe needed, but we eat these with just about every meal!)
Easy Beef Stroganoff 

*I say "current staple recipes" because over time, our favorites change, and what we ate once a week for months on end suddenly is only made once every 6 months or so! :)

Basics I recommend learning/using:

• Thickening techniques, for sauces, gravies, pie fillings, etc. Did you know that there are many different ways to thicken things, and different thickening agents, as well? (Corn starch, flour, arrow root, clear jel, instant potato flakes, etc...) Maybe eventually I'll take the time to write an article all about what to use to thicken various things!
• Things to learn to make from scratch: pancakes, biscuits, muffins, cakes, quick breads (like banana bread), cookies, and an easy pizza crust (yeast-based). Pie crust is a little more difficult since it involves rolling, and is good to learn when you've mastered some of the basics. Things like muffins, cakes, pancakes, or biscuits are easy to make and can be made quickly, once you've had a little practice!
• Meal preparation timing/coordination. I think one of the bigger challenges for beginning cooks is getting an entire meal ready all at once. Having some things ready too soon results in cold foods when it's time to eat. When you're just starting out, it's tricky to estimate the cooking times for everything; inevitably, something takes longer than you expected! However, with practice, you'll soon learn how long it takes to make all your favorite foods and you'll be able to coordinate a full-course meal with ease! (well, most of the time!)

  A lot of soups are very basic dishes, easy to make, and can be kept warm until you have everything else made. Casseroles are nice for that reason also, since you can be finishing up side dishes while the main dish is baking. A good tip is to just start things early, and only leave things for the last minute if they truly need to be done at the very last minute! :)