5 easy family dinners for £25 – Feta filo pie, smoky beans, chicken curry...

Monday: Homemade smoky beans and potatoes

4 jacket potatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 peppers, deseeded and finely sliced
1½ tsp paprika
2 x 420g tins baked beans
15g fresh basil, leaves picked

1. Preheat the oven to gas 8, 220°C, fan 200°C. Pierce the potatoes with a sharp knife a few times, then microwave on high for 10 mins. Check to see if a knife easily pierces them (if not, cook for 3-5 mins and test again). Put on a baking sheet and drizzle with a little oil. Bake for 10 mins until golden.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large, nonstick frying pan over medium heat and add the onion. Fry for 5-7 mins, until starting to soften. Add the garlic, peppers and paprika and fry for a further 5 mins.

3. Add the beans to the pan and simmer for 5 mins. Garnish with basil and serve immediately with the jacket potatoes.

Wednesday: Spinach and feta filo pie with carrot salad

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
900g frozen spinach
2 eggs
200g Greek style salad cheese, crumbled
1 lemon, zested and juiced
8 sheets of filo pastry
50g unsalted butter, melted
4 carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
15g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
15g fresh mint, roughly chopped

1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large, lidded frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the onion. Fry for 5-7 mins, until starting to soften, then add the garlic and spinach. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 15-20 mins, stirring occasionally, until the spinach has wilted. Remove the pan from the heat, leave until cool enough to handle, then place the spinach into a clean tea towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.

2. Place the spinach mixture into a large bowl and add the eggs, feta and lemon zest. Season generously and mix to fully combine. Preheat the oven to gas 6, 200’C, fan 180’C.

3. Line a 23cm cake tin with a filo pastry sheet and brush with melted butter. Repeat with another 3 sheets, brushing each sheet with butter. Spoon the spinach mixture on top of the pastry and cover with the remaining 4 sheets, brushing each with butter like before. Bake for 25-30 mins until golden.

4. Meanwhile, make the carrot salad. Place the grated carrot, coriander and mint into a bowl with the remaining olive oil and 1 tbsp lemon juice. Mix well and season to taste. Add more lemon juice if needed. Serve the pie with the carrot salad.

Friday: Caribbean-inspired chicken curry

1 tbsp olive oil
8 chicken drumsticks
1 pepper, deseeded and sliced
1 tbsp medium curry powder
400ml tin coconut milk
4 rings of tinned pineapple, chopped, plus 100ml juice from the tin
400g tin kidney beans
240g long-grain rice
15g fresh coriander, roughly chopped

1. Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180’C, fan 160’C. Heat the olive oil in a large, ovenproof frying pan over a high heat. Season the chicken drumsticks and place into the pan. Cook for 7-10 mins, turning regularly to brown on all sides. Add the pepper and curry powder and mix to coat the chicken.

2. Add the coconut milk, chopped pineapple and reserved 100ml of pineapple juice from the tin and stir everything together. Cook in the oven for 30 mins, then add the kidney beans and cook for a further 10 mins, until the chicken is cooked through and tender.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of slightly salted water to the boil and cook the rice for 15 mins, until tender. Drain and set aside.

4. Divide the rice between 4 shallow bowls and top with the curry. Scatter with coriander before serving.