A bunch of my favorite bulking recipes, because 'tis the season

Bulking season is upon us,[^1] and so too is the need for cozy recipes. Over the years, I’ve tried to cook a lot of things, some with more success than others. Due to being an efficiency fiend, I always find it harder to bring myself to bother with cooking when it’s not a recipe that can generate a large back-stock of meals. Therefore, most of these recipes are for making in large quantities and freezing.

These are all types of food I love and find worth it to make, and I’ve tried a lot of recipes over the years. If I’m naming it here, it’s because I believe I’ve found “the good one,” the highest expression of that food that doesn’t involve like, shade-growing your own artisanal potatoes or raising heirloom hens or 17 different spices or anything like that.

This is where you find out that I eat largely like a child. I’m at peace with that; not everything can or should be a gourmet meal. And not everything needs to be constructed like these meals, nutritionally. The links on the text are my specific go-to recipes for me when I want to eat a lot of calories and have a good time doing it.

Spaghetti with beef and pork meatballs. I love this meatball recipe from Alison Roman. I’ve made it multiple times, and the meatballs are perfect to freeze and reheat in the microwave to throw in with pasta. I will sometimes skip making the tomato sauce/spaghetti of this recipe (though it’s a great recipe) in favor of just using a jar of Rao’s tossed with al dente spaghetti, plus 1/2-1 cup pasta water, plus a couple tablespoons of butter, plus 2-4 ounces of parmesan, plus more parm for topping. Drop a meatball or two on top and you are cooking.