- Add salt/pepper/spices by hand if you can. Shakers/larger-volume canisters lead to over-application, but it's so easy to grab a little bit of salt, apply, taste, and do it over again until you hit the right mark

- Learn how to cook in a single pot - stews/soups/etc. Saves on cleaning, and broths packed full of nutrients

- Use a crock-pot/slow-cooker. Dead simple, very low risk, produces significant quantities of food

- Learn about portion sizing. So much of over or under cooking is applying the same technique and timing to two different quantities of food. 16 oz of steak cooks differently than 8, same for veggies. Buying the right portions consistently solves so many problems

- Given the point above, learn about an oven -- convection vs. radiant heat. Convection cooking is fast, easy, and awesome.

- Learn how to store stuff properly. You'll spend a fortune if you regularly trap your veggies in air-tight containers. Many of them don't need and are worse-off in those containers. Learn what stuff should be near or away from other vegetables. Good example: if you put your avocados and tomatoes next to your cucumbers, kiss the latter good-bye -- they'll go bad way faster due to the gas emitted by the two others

- Finally, it goes without saying -- not everyone likes what you do, so it's ok if your most exquisite dish doesn't go over perfectly with everyone.

Was not aware of the differences in veggie storage. You do have a lot more seasoning control not in a shaker and that's how it is done in a professor kitchen. Thanks!

Overall, there can be nuance in all of these things, but you don't need to stress yourself with that nuance in so many cases.

Maybe if you're scraping the bottom of the barrel in ingredient quality and buying a lot of rice and beans.

Restaurant chefs have known about 'mise en place' for years. Cutting and measuring most of your ingredients before cooking makes cooking simple and easy. Yeah, there are more dishes to wash, but it makes up for the eventual headaches.