There will come a time (or a few times) every semester when you open your fridge with dread and find half-eaten hot dogs, stale bread and some dead fruit flies. Yum. Maybe a messy fridge will finally stop your roommate’s boyfriend from eating all of your stuff.

GIF courtesy of tumblr.com

But if you ever want to have a nice meal again without having to play fridge-Tetris, it’s time to invest $10 in one of these bad boys:

Slow Cooker

Photo by Stephanie Dang

The best thing about slow cooking is virtually no clean-up! Just throw everything in, plug it in and press a button. Perfect one pot meals… plus plates. Or, you can say f**k it and eat straight out of the pot.

Anywho, don’t cry over almost sour milk. Here are three easy, life-changing (or should I say, recycling?) recipes to give commonly dying food a second chance at life:

Bread + Bacon + Cheese + Milk = Cheesy Savory Bread Pudding

Slow Cooker

Photo by Stephanie Dang

Honestly who doesn’t like some good ol’ bread and cheese, amped-up? Warm, soft and in all its savory goodness, this is a perfect late-breakfast aka post-Friday night kind of dish.

Rice + Chicken + Milk + Butter = Chicken and Rice Soup

Slow Cooker

Photo courtesy of laughingspatula.com

When Campbell’s or Progresso just doesn’t cut it for ya, it’s time to take matters into your own pot.

Tomatoes + Milk + Ground Beef = Easy Bolognese Sauce

Slow Cooker

Photo courtesy of bonappetit.com

Make your bland pasta more exciting with super easy DIY sauce.