Inept.

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I'm in my late 20's and I live with my parents. They are away for the week and I'm kind of a mess right now. My mother left me all of this precooked food in the freezer but I don't know how to deal with it. I don't know how long to defrost it or if I need to put it in the oven for longer or if it's ok to just microwave it all or which ones I'm allowed to eat or what.

And I imagine it is all supposed to be obvious to me.
But it isn't.

It just freaking isn't, ok?
And my parents don't understand these things.

That stuff isn't just obvious. I don't just assume things. I don't just get it when you don't tell me, and no, I don't know how to cook for myself.

*sigh*

I feel really stupid.

Maybe you should order pizza for tonight and take out something to thaw for tomorrow. You know you can find out anything online-just google defrosting food in microwave and you can probably find some kind of guide line.

Do your parents have cell phones or did they leave you a number where they'd be staying? You could just call and ask.

It does not have to be cooked "correctly". If it isn't undercooked it should be safe, meaning it doesn't really matter if you aren't picky about it. Just use your best judgement or google it.

If it's precooked, try microwaving it for 10 minutes (put it on a non-plastic plate first and cover it with another to prevent splashes). If it's not hot all the way through (test by trying a piece) after 10 minutes, stick it on for another 5. Repeat until hot.

It's best to microwave meals one at a time, so leave the food for tomorrow in the fridge or freezer.

The method above may not produce the most delicious meal ever, but it won't poison you.

I'll echo what everyone else said about there not being any food safety issues with the precooked food.

If you're looking for something more to do with it, allrecipes.com is good for ideas. They have lots and lots of recipes, and some of them are for re-doing leftovers and stuff like that. Plus there are reviews where people say what was good and bad about the recipes and talk about how they changed it, so you can have pretty specific instructions about how to make it, it doesn't leave you guessing. (There are very few things I hate more than vague instructions!)

I feel inept too sometime... sigh, I hate to admit it, but the closest to "on my own" was my college dorms. I don't make enough money to live on my own, so I'm at home with mommy and daddy. It's rather sad.

Usually there are cooking instructions on the package. Or is it frozen leftovers?

In any case don't feel too bad. I'm also clueless at cooking and hate cooking for myself. If I could afford it I would get restaurant takeout go out to eat every night.

go buy new food.
That's why I thought myself to cook when I was little I knew my parents were morons and had to take matters into my own hands.
+ cooking is fun.
(<--- hobby chef)

Usually the box of food has all the directions you'll need directly on it.

Oh, also.. if someone is unclear about directions, it's on them! I know that that's easier said than done, but if someone is going to get all picky about what they want you to do (which foods they want you to eat, etc.) then they'd better darn well tell you what it is that they want. If they say that there's food in the freezer for you to eat, then eat food that's in the freezer. If they can't be bothered to tell you specifically what food is yours, they must not care very much about anything that's in there. If there were something in there important enough that they would get bothered that you ate it, they'd have remembered to tell you that they want to save that.