Get the toast in the toaster, and put the beans on the hob for a couple of minutes. Whether you choose to have the beans on top or by the side, or half on half off is really up to you. Once youve tried this a couple of times you will find your preference. Personally, with one can of beans I like 3 slices of toast, and then I pour the beans on top of all three pieces.

The meal is ready in under 5 minutes making it an ideal tea for someone in a rush after work. Or someone who wants to get some food down them without taking up the entire evening.

The banana split can be made a variety of ways, with a variety of things added to it to suit your style. My favourite version is to cut the banana in half, placed into a lips type shape. 3 dollops of vanilla ice cream in the middle of the lips. Chocolate sauce zig-zaged over the whole thing. With hundreds and thousands recklessly sprinkled on top of that. To finish it off a broken up flake sprinkled on top.

Its making my mouth water just thinking about it. Try it out and let me know of any other tips for your banana splits.

The question I ask to all my blog readers is what food would you recommend for a starter if you were hosting a ‘Come dine with me’ evening at your house?

My personal favourites are crispy duck, prawns or a delicious soup.

This weekend I went to Sainsburys, bought a nice hot baguette, a lettuce, cucumber and half a roast chicken from the hot meats counter.

The total price of the lunch is surprisingly low for two people. With the baguette at about 60p, lettuce 80p, half a cucumber at 40p, and half a roast chicken £2.20. The sandwich cost £4 for two people.

To finish the lunch off I bought some Walkers Sensations which complimented this yummy lunch perfectly.

The classic jacket potato is one of the easiest and cheapest meals you can rustle up. Personally its a favourite of mine. The key to the perfect jacket potato is making sure the baked potato is left in the oven long enough.

Get the oven blasting out at about 220. Pop either one or two potato’s in the oven. While they are cooking, grate some mild cheddar cheese. Get some 27p beans from Aldi. Cook them on the hop until pipping hot.

After the baked potato has been in the over for about 45mins - 1h. Cut the potato in half and then half again, making four triangles. Get plenty of real butter on the inside of the potato. Then cheese. Then beans. Perfect.

However, mash without gravy needs a bit of livening up in order to be really tasty. One excellent think you can do is to mix plenty of red or green pesto into the potatoes when they reach the mashing stage. Alternatively, you could add olive oil and some a bunch of chopped black olives to lend the mash a more interesting flavour.

The thing about slow cookers is that they make excellent tender meat and they do justice to dishes that might not otherwise get you all that excited. They are pretty essential if you are a big fan of comforting meals like those mentioned above and they are also pretty low maintenance.

I think I’ve just convinced myself to get one sooner rather than later.

You don’t really need any ingredients for this recipe other than a telephone and comfortable seat. A film is always a good addition but it is entirely optional. You start things off by taking the phone and dialling a local takeaway. Tell the voice on the end of the phone exactly what size pizza you want and what toppings you fancy.

In around half an hour, the pizza will be ready. Just pop to the door with some money and settle down to your meal.

Easy.

If something is seasoned, it isn’t old or well-schooled (like a seasoned professional, for instance), it actually means it has salt and pepper on it. Eggs are particularly good with salt and pepper on them. All you need to do to refine your recipe for a lovely egg, whether it is boiled, scrambled, poached or fried, is stick a bit of salt and pepper on it.

Moreover, when a recipe suggests that you season something to taste, that doesn’t mean that without seasoning you won’t be able to taste it, so don’t fret if there’s no salt in the cupboard.

You need to start by identifying a cereal of choice. Frosties, Corn Flakes, All Bran, Special K and Weetabix are all considered very haute cuisine and they’ll go down a treat at dinner parties.

Next, you need to transfer the cereal to a bowl. This is a difficult skill. Position the box of cereal over the bowl and gently shake to tease it in to the desired quantity before retracting the box and mopping your brow.

Take some fresh milk and add this to the cereal being careful not to deflect any onto the work surfaces in the surrounding area. If you’re feeling especially saucy, you could add some raisins or other fruit as a final flourish.