5 easy family dinners for £25 - Beef ramen, tuna melt, cauliflower fritters...

Monday: Cauliflower cheese fritters

1 cauliflower
460g jar Tesco white lasagne sauce
100g plain flour
3 tbsp vegetable oil
300g pack crunchy coleslaw mix
40g mixed watercress, spinach and rocket

1. Remove any leaves from the cauliflower. Cut the cauliflower into small florets and cut the stalk into 1cm cubes. Boil for 10 mins until tender.

2. Drain the cauliflower and leave to steam dry for 5 mins. Put the white sauce sauce and 100g flour in a large bowl and season with pepper. Mix together until smooth.

3. Chop the cauliflower into small pieces. Add to the cheese sauce and stir well to coat.

4. Heat the oil in a large nonstick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Using 2 dessert spoons, add scoops of the cauliflower batter into the pan, well-spaced apart. Flatten and shape into rounds. Fry for 3 mins until golden around the edges and set, then flip and fry for another 3 mins. Repeat with the remaining mixture – you should get 12 fritters in total.

5. Meanwhile, tip the crunchy veg from the coleslaw mix into a bowl and add the sachet of mayonnaise. Season with pepper and stir well until the veg is well coated. Chill until ready to serve.

6. When all the fritters are cooked, divide between plates and serve with the coleslaw and salad.

Wednesday: Chicken nugget pittas

600g frozen steak-cut oven chips
450g pack frozen breaded chicken nuggets
100g 50% less fat garlic & herb soft cheese
6 large white pittas
1 round lettuce, leaves separated and roughly torn
1 cucumber portion, quartered lengthways and sliced

1. Heat the oven to gas 7, 220°C, fan 200°C. Put the chips on a baking tray and cook for 20 mins. Put the chicken nuggets onto another baking tray and cook for 15 mins.

2. Meanwhile, put the soft cheese in a bowl. Add 1-2 tbsp hot water and season with pepper. Mix until smooth.

3. To serve, toast the pittas. Split them in half width-ways then open each half to make 12 pitta pockets. Spread each pitta pocket with some of the soft cheese and stuff with lettuce leaves and cucumber. Put 2-3 crispy chicken nuggets into each pitta. Drizzle with the remaining soft cheese, and serve 3 pieces per person, alongside the chips.

Friday: Tuna melt loaded chips

900g frozen steak cut oven chips
300g jar mild salsa 
325g tin sweetcorn, drained
50g spring onions, finely sliced
2 x 145g tins tuna chunks in brine, drained
100g 50% less fat garlic & herb soft cheese
110g medium Cheddar, grated

1. Preheat the oven to gas 7, 220°C, fan 200°C. Place the chips on a large baking tray and bake for 20 mins until golden and crisp.

2. Meanwhile, combine the salsa, sweetcorn and most of the spring onions in a bowl and season with pepper. Gently fold in the tuna, trying not to break it up too much.

3. Mash the soft cheese with about ¼ of the grated Cheddar. Heat the grill to high.

4. When the chips are cooked, spoon tablespoons of the tuna and salsa mix over the chips. Top with spoons of the soft cheese mix, then scatter over the remaining Cheddar and grill for 5-10 mins until the cheese is bubbling. Scatter with the remaining spring onions to serve.