Dried spices should be kept tightly capped and be no more than a year old. Have the deli shred your cheeses for you, or buy small blocks and do it yourself. Salt can always be added later. Pay attention to what you are doing. Meals can be simple and tasty, but need to be cooked correctly.
Nothing is nicer than a meal caught in the moment when it is cooked perfectly.
You can't do that while cooking and watching Star Trek . A lot of these dishes use similar spices, and don't contrast with each other well. By mixing different individual dishes, you can come up with different meals. Reheated leftovers taste like reheated leftovers, but if roast chicken becomes chicken soup, no one will ever know. Cheating If you find a jar of premade red sauce, there's nothing wrong with dumping more spices into it, perhaps some braised sirloin, and calling it dinner.