Whether in the dorm room at college or back at home when mom and dad are busy, kids are occasionally called upon to make a meal. Here are some easy favourites from those who have built upon the basics over the years.

TACO SALAD

I got this Taco Salad recipe from a great book called ‘Where’s Mom Now That I Need Her?’ by Kathryn J. Frandsen. It not only has great recipes for the beginner, but also lots of great tips on how to handle everything from stains on your clothing to major medical emergencies.

Over the years, my cooking has become somewhat more sophisticated, but Taco Salad remains a favourite, although my husband and I have made some modifications. It is one of the few recipes I can confidently cook from my head.

* 1 pound of ground turkey.

* 1 tin of Manwich sauce

* 1 tin of kidney beans (optional)

* lettuce (we like using romaine)

* 2 tomatoes

* cheddar cheese

* sour cream

* 1 large bag of lightly salted nacho or taco snack chips (try to get thick ones that will hold up to an onslaught).

Fry up the ground meat. We like turkey because it is less greasy. Add some Manwich sauce. I like mine drowning. My husband likes to add taco sauce. While the meat and sauce is heating to a bubble, cut up some tomatoes and lettuce, and onions if you like them.

Arrange some nacho chips on the bottom of a plate. Put the fried meat and Manwich sauce on top. Add lettuce, tomato, lots of grated cheddar cheese and sour cream. This should feed at least two people. If you can pop out and buy some real nacho chips from a Mexican joint, this will kick the recipe up a notch.

QUICK MINI-PIZZAS

* Muffins or plain bagels

* Spaghetti sauce

* Cheese

* Mushrooms, pepperoni (optional)

This is good for a quick snack, if you have a microwave in your room. Spread some spaghetti sauce on a plain muffin or bagel. Grate some cheese. Add other pizza toppings as desired such as mushrooms and pepperoni. Heat in microwave.

A RAMEN NOODLE RECIPE

You’ll quickly find that there are two staples of college life (that you don’t have to smuggle into the dorm, anyway), Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and Ramen Noodles. Believe it or not, there is an entire website devoted to ramen noodle recipes: www.mattfischer.com/ramen/. This recipe came from that website.

* 4 Ramen Noodle packs

* 1 pound ground beef (or you can be like me and substitute for chicken or turkey which at least has less grease to get rid of. The downside is less taste.)

* Green onions

* Some chopped cilantro

* sliced mushrooms

* bean sprouts

* chilli powder

* salt

Brown ground beef adding chilli seasoning during cooking, season with season salt to taste. Add chopped green onion and cilantro to the ground beef after beef is cooked. Boil the noodles following directions adding the seasoned ground beef, the rest of chopped up cilantro, sliced mushrooms, and the rest of green onions. When the noodles are cooked serve in bowl over the beans sprouts. Serve. Use four packs of noodles or less depending on your appetite.

QUICK FISH

* 1 fish fillet

* 1 onion

* 1 tin of diced or stewed tomatoes.

* Salt and pepper to taste.

This recipe is pretty simple. Fry up some onions. Put a fish fillet and a tin of diced tomatoes on top. Then poach the fish in a frying pan on top of the stove, or in the oven. Don’t walk away to play computer games during this one, fillets cook pretty fast. When it turns white and flaky, it’s done. It would probably only take a minute or so in a microwave safe dish in the microwave. When done put the onions on top.

ROBYN’S ULTIMATE TIP

Buy a small George Foreman Grill for your dorm room, assuming such heating implements are legal at your college. In many places heating implements are considered potential fire hazards, but it other places you can have certain approved mini-microwaves and small cookers. With one of these you can make yourself a grilled cheese sandwich, grill chicken or even use it to make yourself a fried egg.

ROBYN’S MUDDY MONKEY

This is even simpler. Put a banana and peanut butter in a pita roll, and heat in microwave or eat cold. It could benefit from some added chocolate sauce.