Ahhh, I remember my first homebrew experience vividly.   I was just 16 and had recently indulged in some fine ale that my dear friend Chris had brewed.  Knowing my parents would consider it a frivolous and unnecessary activity for a 16 year old I quietly gathered the necessary materials and patiently waited for a moment of respite from their guidance.  The day came and my brother and I quickly went to work.  In the course of the next two hours we managed to spill liquid extract on the carpet, overboil the wort and make a general mess of the kitchen turned psuedo-chemistry lab. However, the ale was at the time what I deemed a modest success and my quest for world-class homebrew goes on.  Below you'll find some of the recipes I've developed myself.  There is not much science involved in their formulation, actually almost entirely on intuition, but they have all been quite nice and I am not the sole holder of this opinion.  Good Luck!

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1 lb. 2-Row Barley Malt
1.5 lb. Dried Malt Extract (Munton and Fison Light)
4 lb. Amber Light Extract
8 oz. Maltodextrin
1 oz. Cascade Hops alpha=5.0%
0.5 oz. Czech Saaz Hops
0.5 tsp. Irish Moss
0.5 tsp Ginger (freshly grated)
1 Cinammon stick

Make tea with malt and bring to slow boil.  Remove malts.  Add all other ingredients and 0.5 oz. Cascades.  Boil for 45 minutes.  Add Irish Moss for final 10
minutes, Czech and remaining Cascade hops.  Ferment ~ 2 weeks with Cooper's Ale Yeast.  Prime with 3/4  to 1 cp. corn sugar.

When I Grow Up I Wanna Be A Bass
1 lb. Dark Brown Sugar
3.3 lbs. Munton and Fison's Light Extract
4 lbs. Light Extract
1.5 lbs.Crystal Malt Row Barley (L 49-64)
1 oz.  Kent Goldings Hops alpha=5.0%
2 oz. Fuggles Hops alpha-5.0%

Boil wort.  Full boil Kent Goldings.  At 30 minutes add 1 oz. Fuggles.  Boil for 60 minutes.  During cooldown steep 1 oz. Fuggles for 10 minutes.  Ferment ~ 2
weeks.  Prime with 3/4 cp. priming sugar.
 

Pale Ale (the best I've ever made)
1 lb. Dry Light Malt Extract
6 lbs. Light Extract
0.25 lb U.S. Pale Ale Malt
0.5 lb 2-Row Barley Malt Crystal Caramunch III
2 oz. Cascades Hops alpha=5.5%
1 oz. Hallertau Hops alpha=3.1%
1 tsp. Gypsum
1 tsp. Irish Moss
1 package Munton and Fison's Dry Ale Yeast

Steep Grains slowly to boil.  Add dry and liquid extracts and 1 oz Cascades.  At 30 minutes add 1 oz. Cascades.  Add Hallertau to wort until cool enough to
sparge.  Allow Hallertau to float in primary fermentation.  Primary for 4 days, secondary for 13 days.  Prime with 7/8 cp. priming sugar.