Until today—because you can totally use your muffin tin to make awesome, perfectly portioned, easy to freeze meals like these. (Just please, give the thing a good scrub first. Who knows how much dust it’s collected.)

  1. Mini meat loaves A full-size meat loaf takes forever to cook, but their muffin tin counterparts only need about 20 minutes. Plus, you can wrap up individual pieces and freeze them for quick dinners later on.
  2. Mac and cheese The only bad thing about everyone’s favorite comfort food is the fact that it’s almost impossible to keep portions in check. But when you make your mac in muffin tins, that problem’s solved. (Bonus: This recipe uses whole-wheat macaroni and spinach.)
  3. Baked oatmealLove oats for breakfast but also need to eat on the go? This recipe’s for you. Make your usual batch of oatmeal, add your favorite fruit or nuts, and bake. (Around 20 minutes should do it.) The crunchy crust is super addictive, so you might never go back to regular oatmeal again. MORE: Blueberry and Pomegranate Baked Oatmeal Bars
  4. Granola yogurt cups Ready to have your mind blown? Instead of putting granola in your yogurt, put yogurt in your granola. Just bake your granola in muffin tins instead of on a baking sheet, using your thumb or a spoon to create some space to add the yogurt after the cups have cooked.
  5. Green smoothies OK, this one is even crazier. Make your favorite green smoothie mix, then freeze individual portions in muffin cups. The result? Little green smoothie pucks that you can defrost and sip anytime you need them. AMAZING! MORE: Five Easy Ways To Cook WIth Banana Peels
  6. Minestrone soup (or any soup, really) How annoying is it to scavenge up a million plastic containers to freeze individual portions of homemade soup? If you freeze your soup in a muffin tin instead, you never have to deal with that shit again.
  7. Smoked salmon egg sandwichesFor when you’re feeling fancy: Layer smoked salmon in the bottom of muffin cups, top with a circle of bread, some egg salad, and another circle of bread. Chill for a few hours, unmold, and you’ve got some super swanky sammies. MORE: Is Cooking with Olive Oil Actually Dangerous?
  8. Right-size taco cups Media Platforms Design Team That ginormous crispy shell encasing your taco salad is a real diet killer. Go the muffin tin route using wonton wrappers instead, and you can indulge without going insane.  
  9. Chicken pot pieBecause no one said this comfort food classic had to be made in a vessel the size of your face. Sadly, pretty much all of the muffin tin chicken pot pie recipes that seem to be out there are sort of junky (read: canned soup and biscuit dough). But they do show you the basic technique, so master it and then adapt the recipe to fit your clean eating diet.
  10. Baked eggs wrapped in baconNot all egg recipes made in a muffin tin involve frittatas or omelets. All you do here is line your muffin cups with bacon or prosciutto, crack an egg in the middle, and bake. Doesn’t get much easier than that.