Recommended to me especially for OTB play for "beginners" wanting a simple opening repertoire is 1. ... c6 to both 1. e4 and 1. d4. Then depending upon what White does, play the Karo-Cann or semi-Slav defence to the Queen's Gambit Declined.
With c6 followed by d4 and Bg4/Bf5 and e6 unlike the French there isn't a "bad bishop" and as the person advising me (FM, CGM, teaches beginners) said concentrate on getting your pieces out and being competitive.
Other than avoiding a "bad bishop" the advantage enunciated for these two openings is that the pawn structure is similar.
Obviously, both openings have their complications (and some of the Caro-Kann lines are highly techical) but for just the basics against players around your level, a good development and reasonable pawn structure is a good start.
I gave it a try and started playing the Caro-Kann OTB. I won't say I like it -- for some reason it's just not attractive to me -- but whether it was the switch of openings or my new/refound focus on development, I started getting better results.
I don't have much experience yet with the semi-Slav; of my few OTB opponents who open 1. d4 a goodly proportion happily switch into the Karo-Cann. Maybe they don't like the Sicilian, either. 
I recently posted a thread (a month ago or so) in which I asked if players of my level (1300-1400) should be playing hypermodern openings or only classical ones. My conclusion was that it was silly to be playing the Sicilian when I was only 1300 and I should just play simple lines. I never really liked the Sicilian anyway because most opponents at my level castled kingside. While I could still try for a queenside pawn attack, it didn't really work out that well. Also, it took too much study for me to master it and I wasn't ready to learn that much about an opening at my level. I then started playing 1...e5.
The problem is that I think most players who play 1...e4 want their opponents to play 1...e5, at least at my level. That's certainly the way it is with me. I often got into lines in the Ruy Lopez or Scotch where my opponents felt right at home while I didn't know what to do. I then started playing the Petrov, which made me a little more comfortable but didn't help my game that much. Furthermore, players played 3. Nc3 leading to the four knights opening, which I hate playing since hardly anything ever happens and it's uninteresting, in my opinion. I don't like playing 1...e5 or 1...c5, and when I used to play 1...d6 a few years ago, I often got stormed with pawns down the middle of the board and had to play cramped games that I often lost. I don't know what else I like and I don't know how to test out openings to see if I like them. I've never played the Modern, the Caro-Kann, the French, the Alekhine, the Nimzovitch, or the Scandinavian, but I don't feel any of them would be suitable for me unless you guys recommend any of them.
Thanks for reading, guys. For anyone with a higher rating than mine who is willing to help out, do you recommend I try any of these? If so, how? I don't want to go into a game playing an unfamiliar opening leading me to do something silly. How much should I study openings as black and how should I try them out before playing them in serious games (i.e. tournaments). Thanks.