I usually either resort to my cookbooks - or searching for the single item recipe, or go to one of my usual recipe sites: food.com, foodnetwork.com, allrecipes.com -- or just add the word "recipe" to whatever item I'm looking to make when searching via google. Some food producers also provide recipes (e.g. Betty Crocker - where I just found a recipe for Vanilla Buttercream frosting).
On youtube, there's Bon Appetit, The Scott Rea Project (mostly meats & butchering),and even grocer's channels like Kroger and Publix will have recipe videos, Cowboy Kent Collins (western/trail cooking)
However, my first stop (especially when I'm in the kitchen) is my Betty Crocker cookbook.
Not sure I completely understand the comment on cooking from scratch costing more as I've yet to find a pre-made (or even pre-packaged) meal that costs less than buying the ingredients and cooking the meal myself -- it may be true when it comes to baking (breads, muffins, etc),but cooking and especially cooking full meals I've yet to see it. Which is part of the reason a vast majority of the meals I make in a week are made from scratch partly for that reason and partially because I find that having full (or nearly full) control over the ingredients generally results in a better tasting meal. Granted most of my meals consist of a protein, heated with vegetables so I'm not trying to be trendy or fashionable with new sauces or flavors, but just creating simple good tasting meals. ....and sometimes just changing something as simple as the type of oil used can change the flavor.
Sometimes with cooking it's just as simple as "playing with your food" and trying new things that you may think will make a tasty combination...... granted doing that with baking can be bit more complicated as there are usually chemistries in the recipe that need to be preserved to ensure it rises and creates the fluffy texture desired, but adding things like fruit, veggies or cheeses usually can be done without much issue.
