5 easy family dinners for £25 - Feta turnovers, bean soup, lentil bake...

Monday: Spinach and feta turnovers

500g frozen leaf spinach
2 tbsp olive oil
200g frozen classic vegetable soup mix
2 garlic cloves, crushed
5g fresh thyme, leaves picked
150g salad cheese, crumbled
375g pack reduced-fat ready-rolled puff pastry
½ lemon, juiced
½ cucumber, deseeded and sliced
250g cherry tomatoes, halved
½ red onion, finely sliced

1. Preheat the oven to gas 7, 220°C, fan 200°C. Put the spinach in a heatproof bowl and pour over a kettleful of boiling water; set aside to defrost.

2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry the vegetable soup mix for 5 mins until tender. Stir in the garlic and thyme, fry for 1 min, then remove from the heat.

3. Drain the spinach through a sieve, then squeeze to remove the excess water. Stir through the softened veg, add the cheese and mix well with plenty of black pepper. Set aside for 5 mins.

4. Unroll the pastry on the baking paper it comes on, then cut into 4 rectangles. Spoon the filling over half of each rectangle, leaving a 1cm border. Pull the empty side over the filling and crimp the border with a fork to seal. Transfer to a baking sheet (still on the baking paper), make a small steam hole in each parcel with a knife, then bake for 20 mins until golden and puffed.

5. Whisk the lemon juice with the remaining 1 tbsp oil in a bowl. Toss in the cucumber, tomatoes and onion. Serve alongside the turnovers.

Wednesday: Meatball, beetroot and lentil bake

12-pack Meat & Veg beef meatballs
1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
1½ red onions, cut into thin wedges
2 tbsp olive oil
2 x 390g tins green lentils, drained
2 x 250g pack cooked beetroot, cut into wedges
120g radishes, trimmed and halved
200g natural yogurt
15g fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 small garlic clove, crushed

1. Preheat the oven to gas 7, 220°C, fan 200°C. Tip the meatballs, broccoli and onions into a roasting tin and drizzle over the oil. Toss everything together; season well. Roast in the oven for 15-20 mins until the veg is tender.

2. Stir in the lentils, beetroot and radishes and mix well. Roast for another 10-15 mins until the lentils are piping hot and the meatballs cooked through.

3. Mix the yogurt with the coriander and garlic; spoon over the traybake. Swirl into the lentils to serve.

Friday: Cheat's bacon and mushroom lasagne

1 tbsp olive oil
200g frozen classic vegetable soup mix
2 garlic cloves, crushed
300g closed-cup mushrooms, sliced
400g cooking bacon, fat trimmed, cut into 5mm pieces
5g fresh thyme, leaves picked
250g frozen leaf spinach
300g lasagne sheets
100g natural yogurt
400g tin cream of mushroom soup
240g reduced-fat mozzarella, drained and sliced
320g frozen peas

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the vegetable base mix for 5 mins. Add the garlic, mushrooms and bacon, increase the heat to high and cook for 10 mins until any water evaporates. Add the thyme and spinach; cook for 2-3 mins until the spinach has defrosted. Season with black pepper.

2. Meanwhile, boil the lasagne sheets for 5 mins, stirring frequently, until softened but not cooked through. Drain and rinse with cold water; keep in cold water until you’re ready to assemble.

3. Preheat the oven to gas 9, 240°C, fan 220°C. Stir the yogurt into the mushroom soup in a bowl.

4. Put ⅓ of the mushroom and bacon mix in a baking dish (about 20 x 30cm), smoothing over the base, then add a layer of lasagne sheets (using ⅓), cutting them to fit the dish. Add ¼ of the creamy soup mixture, then repeat with 2 more layers of the mushroom and bacon mix, lasagne sheets and soup mixture, finishing with the remaining soup mixture. Top with the mozzarella, then bake for 25 mins until golden, bubbling and tender when pierced with a knife. Rest for 5 mins before serving. Meanwhile, cook the peas to pack instructions and serve alongside the lasagne.