Take this, all of you, and eat the … casserole? In the sacred affair of feeding oneself throughout the week, the multiplication of breakfasts, lunches and dinners can occur in the miraculous depth of the baking dish or Crock-Pot.

I am not talking about the awful cream of mushroom, tater tot and strange ground meat concoction many of our parents and grandparents – especially those of certain white, Midwestern extraction – made for us as children.

Rather, a dish that keeps on dishing could be lasagna, an enchilada bake, macaroni and cheese or some other delicious meal that pops into the oven at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Dishes like these refrigerate well and can easily be paired for other meals. Providing a bit of breakfast sacrilege is a nonissue, heating up some leftover lasagna can be an excellent and comforting way to start the day.

The passage into adulthood is marked in some cultures by the gifting of a Crock-Pot and the first ceremonial stew. From its hallowed heated depths, hearty soups and chili come forth to fill the stomach as well as the Tupperware.

Bulk dishes like stir-fry and curry also live long across many lunches and dinners. Put an egg sunny-side-up over a curry and it becomes a hearty breakfast. Put the stir-fry from last night in a pan with some beaten egg, make sure the egg is scrambled and wrap it in a tortilla with some Sriracha sauce for a breakfast burrito. The burrito trick works for lunch, too: cut up some fresh bell pepper and cabbage to make for a filling lunchtime stir-fry wrap.

Pasta also serves the same purpose. A packet of pasta, a nice medley of frozen vegetables and some source of protein makes for many meals. The egg over easy on top of some hot leftover pasta makes for a filling start to any day.

A lunchbox and Tupperware go a long way to make bulk dishes work. The university in its largess has provided microwave ovens all over the CUB and in many other buildings to re-heat leftovers. Bringing a lunch helps to avoid the lunchtime lines, cuts back on the expense of campus eateries and allows better control over the nutritional quality of one’s food.

Some of these sorts of dishes can be labor-intensive and time consuming. However, the extra time spent on Sunday and Wednesday saves the time spent the other days of the week cooking continuously. Bulk eating can also be an easy way to balance protein, vegetable and carbohydrate intake.

Cooking often but not daily can also keep the act pleasurable, but not a chore. Moreover, reheating food made by the sweat of one’s brow and the strength of one’s spoon is much more rewarding than a reduced-sodium frozen dinner. When it is a labor of love, it can also be a labor with a lover: cooking large dishes is always easier with the help and presence of someone close to the heart.

Start the transition into adult life. Break out the baking dishes and Crock-Pots. Fill up those Tupperware containers. Make miracles by multiplying your meals.

Tyler Laferriere is a graduate student pursuing his master’s in economics from Phoenix, Arizona. He can be contacted at [email protected].