Herb You Should Have On Hand

So here's my weekly tip for all those Mile High mamas and papas. If you have the following basic herbs in your kitchen pantry, you'll never be far from creating a delicious meal for your family:

Salt & Pepper
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Cayenne Pepper
Herbs de Provence
Italian Herbs
Ginger
Kikkoman Soy Sauce
Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce

With the above ingredients, you'll have the starter tools to flavor your food. Don't skimp on the quality, buy the more expensive herbs. They're more expensive for a reason, they're stronger and more flavorful. I like the McCormicks or Shilling brands (not sure if I'm spelling the brand correctly). With just those basic flavors, I will give you a simple pasta recipe next week that will only use those spices. Each week, I'll give you another recipe using just those spices (and maybe a new one or two) and, yes, sometimes you need unique ones (like curry powder) to make other things but as a rule of thumb, if you have the above in your pantry, you'll do fine. While I love to buy individual spices (basil, oregano etc.) I find the two mixes above do the trick and I don't have to throw away any unused, old spices. The Italian and French spices above have all the herbs you need and you'll be able to use them up faster and not waste any money. So I hope this week's tip is helpful. Let me know if you think I should include another herb to my pantry.