how to learn about meat, and buying it and cooking it?

Are you looking at beef, chicken, anything?

There are lots of meat cookbooks out there.

Start maybe with a simple flank or sirloin steak and/or boneless chicken breast. Chicken breast can make 1000s of dishes.

Do you have local butchers? Go there instead of the grocery store

This is a fun twist on a popular topic here ashley. Usually you are giving advice to those of us wanting to eat more veggies

I'm not super picky about meat so I get what is on sale at the grocery store. I find that bone in, skin on chicken is the most forgiving regarding cooking. But not everyone likes to see/eat chicken on the bone. I bake in the oven using a meat thermometer.

Right after I got married, a friend introduced me to How to Cook Meat Christopher Schlesinger and John Willoughby. 

It changed my life. Seriously. I knew how to cook meat, but didn't know about different methods, what to do with different cuts, how to tell the difference, etc.

We saved so much money by knowing what to do with cheap cuts and how not to waste expensive cuts. I once found a great deal on a Prime Rib roast and had the confidence to know I could cook it well. 

There are cheap used copies on Amazon--the shipping is where you pay a bit more, but the main page for the book said somebody is selling a copy for one penny. 

Boneless chicken breasts are the most common, but they are so flavourless and easy to dry out. I do like stir fry because the meat is just part of the dish so a little goes a long way. 

A marinade makes the chicken more tender--I soak mine in low sodium soy sauce and a bit of brown sugar. Then I brown them in a pan and then add in the marinade and let it boil before adding two bags of frozen vegetable--I get one of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots and one of "stir fry vegetables" sugar peas, red peppers, broccoli, and water chestnuts. 

I prefer beef and pork to chicken. It's more tender and flavourful. Pork tenderloin is great for newbies--it is tender and doesn't dry out easily. It's good floured and pan fried, roasted, cut into strips for stir fry, etc. 

Get a good meat thermometer--a probe one. It's easy to set the temp so you don't over cook your meat. 

Roasting a whole chicken is easy but looks impressive. I fill mine with a cut up onion and lemon with some thyme, rosemary, and parsley in it. Rub the skin with butter or olive oil, salt, pepper, and some chopped up thyme and rosemary. Roast in a super hot oven--450. It takes about an hour. 

You don't need a fancy roasting pan or a rack. To keep the chicken above the bottom of the lipped pan, I use some carrots, celery, and onion. The juices make a great gravy. The crisp skin is the best part--eat it when it's hot. 

After you serve the chicken for dinner, use the rest for soup or chicken and dumplings or chicken salad. Boil the carcass with carrots, celery, and onions for a great stock. Everyone will be so impressed and won't know how easy roasting a chicken is. 

I tend to base my meals on what meats are on special. I will buy ground beef and frozen chicken cutlets from Costco as staples though. Based on what I have on hand, I'll either use a tried a true recipe or will google one that looks appetizing and has good reviews. Beef can be tricky. I've purchased expensive cuts from Costco where the quality seemed different from a previous purchase. I don't like to freeze beef, except ground beef, so I will rarely purchase more meat than I can use in a given week.

Go to the library and check out one of the all-purpose cookbooks, like Better Homes and Gardens-the kind with pictures. Some of them have info on different cuts of meat, roasting charts, etc.

I agree that starting with chicken breasts or thighs is a good place to start easing back into eating meat. You can sauté boneless breasts in olive oil or butter, lightly seasoned with whatever you like, and then slice or chop them to use smaller bits in a dish that's probably more like what you're used to eating. Or you can boil or roast them, whatever works for you.

Also bacon. Because it's bacon.

I have learned a lot from Alton Brown. If you can get Good Eats in your channels or on demand, watch for those episodes. He does a lot of teaching about the food itself, not just the recipes if that makes sense. His cookbooks are a good resource too if the shows aren't an option. They have recipes of course, but also lots of knowledge to glean as well.

I do this...you can cook a bunch up on the weekend and freeze. I will also shred them and freeze. Toss them in a crock pot and slow cook. I also do this with ground beef. Cook up a bunch and then freeze in small portions.

I agree with those who say to find a butcher...

Buy from a butcher whenever possible, you'll get super fresh meats.

And meats without all the crap added in.

As for cooking them, a crock pot is great, keeps the meats moist and can cook almost effortlessly .

I've found my local farmers market to be helpful. There are always 2-3 different local farms selling meat and the are very helpful with tips for preparing it. 

Find out what kind of ratings your local butcher has got from food inspections. I just found out today one in my town was shut down for a while due to multiple violations.