I once spent like $40 on fancy ingredients trying to make some restaurant quality meal at home. It was fine. Edible. Then the next night I made rice and beans with a cheap onion and it was somehow better. My whole cooking ego took a hit that day. There's something about dried beans that just works, they soak up whatever you throw at them and the texture beats anything from a plastic container. The chicken was probably sitting under a heat lamp for hours anyway so its not really a fair fight. You basically paid $12 for convenience and a little regret, which honestly is a decent deal these days.