I can not will myself to go grocery shopping. I have two potatoes, a can of salsa, and oatmeal to my name. I have exhausted my Thanksgiving leftovers and am left with no food, but no motivation to go on a full grocery expedition. How will I survive the next week and a half until Christmas break? Thankfully, I can call on the help of the yummiest, easiest, cheapest meal on the planet. Baked Ziti.

Obtaining the ingredients for baked ziti is as easy as one, two, three, four, five. Start with the foundation of your ziti, a box of super cheap penne pasta.

Then move on to the most fun part of the baked ziti shopping process, the sauce. Grabbing a jar of your choice is the most fun. You can choose your basic tomato sauce, or a fancy exotic one if you need a little class in your life, or vodka sauce if you're feeling wild. I sometimes even make it with alfredo sauce if I'm feeling extra cheesy, which brings me to my next step.

The second best part of baked ziti is the plethora of cheese involved. Start with a big hunk of mozzarella cheese, mix in a container of ricotta cheese. Some stop there, but I think you can never have too much cheese. I like to incorporate some parmesan on top, maybe some alfredo inside, just depends how I'm feeling.

Finally, cook up a pan of ground beef. Mix all this stuff together, transfer it into a casserole dish, and stick her in the oven. Badda-bing, a warm, yummy, cheesy dish that will last you at least three days.

The warmth of a baked ziti on a cold, rainy day can melt even the most frozen of hearts. Even the most tired of this semester. Even the most stressed about finals. In this depressive, struggle of a season, every college student can benefit from a hearty serving of baked ziti.