And on the seventh day, they ate well

The meat used need not be fancy; a bottom round or chuck roast works quite well. (Photos by tom herde/globe staff)

The pot roast sits in the oven surrounded by potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and sprigs of thyme, a rich broth bubbling in the iron pot, up the sides and down the lid, and back onto the meat. Then it's done and ready to pull from the oven. We cut the meat into thick slices, set it in deep plates, and spoon the soft vegetables around the meat so they nestle in. A frugal Yankee pot roast becomes a winter feast, with leftovers to spare.

Spend time in the kitchen and you know that as good as the main dish can be, what remains often tastes even better. Leftovers can be precious and transformed into other delights. Roast chicken turns into pot pie, risotto into deep-fried balls of arancini, stale bread into eggy French toast. For this blustery season, braised beef is family dinner on Sunday, then it becomes a hearty hash for breakfast or even dinner, and a casserole of baked penne or rigatoni with beef ragu and mozzarella later in the week. It's a simple theory: Cook more than you need on the weekend and you'll dine well twice more.

Yankee pot roast is hearty and comforting, but usually drowned in water and cooked until it's bland as barley. First you have to brown the meat. We use a skillet and a broiler on its hottest setting - then deglaze the skillet so you get all of those precious caramelized bits. When it's time to add the liquid, use white wine (you might think red wine is an obvious choice, but it makes the dish too rich) or even hard cider. Or pour in homemade stock. Add water if you have none of these. Then let it bubble gently in the oven. While it's cooking, add a few baked potatoes to the oven so you'll have spuds for meals down the road.

Typically, if a restaurant is offering braised beef, you're likely to get short ribs. They're fatty, flavorful, and totally luscious, but three bites and you're full. Too much red wine, butter, and rich meat. In fact, they're better for your last meal on earth than for family supper on Sunday.

Instead, start with a big piece of beef, nothing fancy or hard to find, just a good old bottom round from the hard-working hindquarter of the animal. Or look for a boneless chuck roast. You also want hearty winter vegetables - parsnips or turnips, waxy potatoes, sweet carrots, and rainbow chard. When the dish is cooked and plated, spoon over a dollop of horseradish cream.

For another day, make a chunky hash, a more rustic version than you might be used to, which is a tradition that often follows New England boiled dinner. No reason it shouldn't follow a braise too. Cook sweet onion slices, fry pieces of baked potatoes until they form a golden crust, and toss the two in a skillet with shredded meat. Let it all turn crispy while you fry eggs sunny-side up.

You should still have plenty of meat for a pasta ragu. Ragu in the hands of an Italian grandmother begins with a bony beef and pork broth, simmered all day, strained and combined with tomatoes and more meat, then cooked again. Today's harried cooks begin with browned hamburger and supermarket tomato sauce. Leftover pot roast, canned tomatoes, and basil are a good compromise, somewhere between desperate parents and your Nonna.

Because it's winter and oven heat is welcome, bake the pasta. Toss cooked penne or rigatoni with the ragu, layer it with fresh mozzarella and Parmesan, and top with more cheese, fried bread crumbs, and fresh basil. Bake until the top is bubbly and a bit crusty.

Dig in and admire your own good planning.