5 easy family dinners for £25 – Veggie pasties, caesar salad, bean burgers...

Monday: Bean burgers with carrot fries

500g carrots, peeled and cut into 1cm-thick fries
2½ tbsp olive oil
5 soft white rolls
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)
2 x 400g tins kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp dried oregano
10g fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
small leaves from 1/3 round lettuce
¼ cucumber, thinly sliced (optional)
½ x 340g jar pickled cabbage, drained

1. Preheat the oven to gas 7, 220°C, fan 200°C. Put the carrots on a large baking tray, drizzle with ½ tbsp oil and season lightly. Roast for 25-30 mins until tender. Slice 4 rolls in half and put sliced-side up on the tray for the last 5 mins.

2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and chilli, then cook for 5-7 mins until softened. Blitz in a food processor with the beans, oregano, parsley, remaining bread roll and some seasoning until mostly smooth.

3. Shape the mixture into 4 patties, about 2cm thick and 8cm wide. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry the patties for 5 mins each side or until crisp.

4. Divide the lettuce between the bottom halves of the buns. Top with a patty, cucumber (if using) and cabbage, then the lid. Serve with the fries.

Wednesday: Mediterranean veggie pasties

1 tbsp olive oil
350g courgettes, quartered lengthways and sliced
2 peppers, deseeded and sliced
1 red onion, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tbsp tomato purée
10g fresh thyme, leaves picked
1 tsp dried oregano
25g grated pecorino
375g ready-rolled shortcrust pastry
2 tbsp milk, to glaze
1/3 round lettuce, leaves torn

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry the courgettes, peppers and onion for 8-10 mins until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 min. Whisk the tomato purée, thyme and oregano with 3 tbsp boiling water until smooth. Pour into the pan and cook for 1-2 mins until the sauce coats the vegetables. Stir in the pecorino, remove from the heat, and transfer to a plate. Spread out and leave to cool for 10 mins.

2. Preheat the oven to gas 6, 200°C, fan 180°C. Unravel the pastry and cut into 4 rectangles, then place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, making sure to space them apart. Add 2-3 heaped tbsp of the vegetable filling to one side of each rectangle, leaving a 1cm border. You may have more filling than you need, see tip below.

3. Brush the borders with milk and pull over the other side of the pastry to cover the veg. Use a fork to seal the three sides together. Glaze with a little more milk, then bake for 25 mins until golden and crisp. Serve with the lettuce.

Cook's tip: Any leftover filling can be added to pasta as a simple salad or serve with couscous for a quick lunch.

Friday: Loaded sweet potato and parsnip fries

600g sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into fries
500g parsnips, peeled and cut into fries
2 tbsp vegetable oil
250g cooking bacon, diced
100g Danish blue cheese, crumbled
10g fresh parsley, roughly chopped
100g low-fat natural yogurt
½ bunch spring onions, finely chopped
3 tbsp drained pickled red cabbage

1. Preheat the oven to gas 7, 220°C, fan 200°C. Mix the sweet potato and parsnip fries with the oil on one large or 2 medium baking trays. Season and spread out evenly, so there’s a little space between each fry. Roast for 25-30 mins until golden and crisp, turning everything over halfway through.

2. Meanwhile, fry the bacon for 5 mins until crispy and golden. Drain on kitchen paper. Mash half the cheese and half the parsley with all the yogurt and some black pepper in a small bowl with a fork. Add 1 tbsp of water to loosen.

3. When the fries are done, top with spoonfuls of the blue cheese yogurt. Crumble over the remaining blue cheese and scatter with the crispy bacon, spring onion and red cabbage. Top with the remaining parsley to serve.