Cooking meat

Instant Thermometers
Always use an instant thermometer to determine the doneness of meat. Instant thermometers reach the real temperature faster. Digital instants are better than analog but are more expensive. Make sure the thermometer is in the middle of what you are trying to measure.

Oil
When cooking meat in a pan - make sure there is hot oil in the pan before adding the meat. You can use vegetable or canola oil which have higher smoke points. Don't use olive oil because it's a waste of a good oil.

Heat
This depends on your range. You don't want the oil to start smoking, but you want to cook the product before all the moisture evaporates. Try either high or medium high heat.

When Should I Flip?
You should usually only flip once during cooking (unless what you're cooking is breaded). Flip when you see juices rising up from the top of what you're cooking and the edges of the product look cooked the way through.

Once flipped check the temperature every one or two minutes for correct doneness.

Correct internal temperatures
USDA Recommendations

I've taken the temperatures from this link in case it goes dead.

USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures


 * Steaks & Roasts - 145 °F
 * Fish - 145 °F
 * Pork - 160 °F
 * Ground Beef - 160 °F
 * Egg Dishes - 160 °F
 * Chicken Breasts - 165 °F
 * Whole Poultry - 165 °F

Resting
After the food is cooked you should put it on a warm plate and then cover it loosely with tin foil. While the meat is letting its juices redistribute - you can be making your pan sauce. When the sauce is done you can take the cooked juices from the resting plate and add it to the sauce to increase the flavor of the sauce.