Friday morning …

… whilst you're splitting the breakfast atom or juggling breakfast balls, hard boil the eggs as per the following recipe – don't forget to set your timer!

For Friday's supper I have made certain assumptions. That you're tired and you really don't want to be bothered about food at all. You're ready to do another supermarket shop – whether it's physical or virtual you still need the time – the cupboards whilst not bare are definitely depleted.

I have therefore taken it for granted that you want minimum fuss and maximum flavour in the shortest time possible. To this end ...

You'll notice that there are four items marked * on the recipe. The first is cooked rice. Stock your freezer with frozen rice – you can also buy rice and vegetables too. This rice and/or vegetables can be stir fried straight from the freezer or microwaved. To give you an indication of time – 250g of the rice and vegetables takes 4 mins 750w or 3.30 mins 850w. It comes in 500g bags and apart from the rice contains petits pois, sweetcorn and fried onion – available from Marks & Spencer. Frozen rice is widely available at most supermarkets.

This task can be left until you are ready to cook this evening. If you buy the rice and vegetables you don't need the onion in the recipe since they're already in the rice.

Take the cooked salmon fillet/flakes, smoked salmon and the prawns from the freezer, ensuring that the prawns are placed in an appropriate sealed container to defrost during the day.

These tasks take seconds. The eggs can be peeled this evening – whilst the rice is in the microwave.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that by taking advantage of deals when you see them and freezing ingredients life is so much easier when you've the wherewithal to produce an excellent meal very quickly without having to go anywhere near a supermarket!

Get into the habit of stocking your freezer with ingredients you know you'll use. I appreciate you need the space in the freezer and I'm not suggesting you rush out and spend a fortune you can't afford. A little thought goes a long way …

… to saving your sanity!