Nothing I ever make at home ever taste like store bought or restaurant made even if all the same ingredients are used. why is this?

Next time you buy something at a restaurant or market that you really like, I would suggest you take notes to look at later on. Consider things like texture, appearance, salt level, intensity of flavor, and the characteristics of the flavor. I like to visualize how the flavors of a dish will come together, before I start cooking. One thing I would suggest is to be cautious with spices. It's very easy to overspice something, and once you do that, it's hard to fix. Same thing with salt. As you cook a dish, don't be afraid to sample it and correct the seasoning before you serve it.

There are all kinds of chemicals in pre-made foods. I never use them.

Pre-made foods are full of flavour enhancers and chemicals. In a restaurant, you have someone with a lot of experience and an excellent pallet preparing your food. Many places will use the freshest ingredients and better quality than you might be able to get at the local supermarket, not to mention the techniques involved. Many things are made from scratch, like stocks, and things like that make all the difference.

I feel that everything I make at home tastes so much better than store bought or from a restaurant. For one thing it's fresh and isn't filled with things you can't name and additives to give it more shelf life. Just play around and use your imagination when cooking, add what you like, what sounds like would be good in something. I have a sister who was a horrible cook but eventually turned into one heck of a great cook, it just took her a little time. I happen to really enjoy cooking and started learning when I was young. As for cakes, if you don't like one recipe then try another until you find your favorite. I agreed with @Hugo90 on a lot of what he said with the exception of the meatloaf. I use only ground beef, actually ground sirloin, and mine is quite yummy. I'll give you my very simple recipe. 1 pd ground beef (your choice) I buy with only 7% fat at the most. 1 bell pepper finely chopped 1 white onion finely chopped 1 egg 1 can tomatoe sauce oats (I eyeball my oats, I've never measured them. Maybe look in a cookbook for an idea of how much to start with, this binds the beef, along with the egg to help hold it together. pepper Pappy's seasoning (you can use any season salt you choose, just don't add extra salt if you use a lot) Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl by hand place in casserole dish and put in pre-heated 375 degree oven. Bake for 40 minutes and prepare sauce in the meantime. Sauce; (now this you will do to 'your' taste) in a cereal bowl squeeze a decent amount of ketchup into bowl add a small amount of mustard add plain white sugar to taste and mix all 3 items well. Spoon or pour on top of meatloaf after it's baked for that 40 minutes and bake another 20 minutes until the sauce has started to bubble or brown a little. You want it to cook and dissolve that sugar. I personally make a lot of the sauce as my husband really likes it well covered. When making the sauce add the ingredients and get a little taste after each time you mix until you find the balance that you personally like. If you prefer tangy add more mustard, if a little sweeter add more ketchup or sugar. Good luck! P.S. Sorry I can't be more exact, I've been making this for years and have just never measured anything.

Supermarket foods are made by scientists. They create chemical concoctions that stimulate certain parts of our brains to make us feel good and happy and they call it food.