5 easy family dinners for £25: Week 7

Monday: Bacon and broccoli carbonara

½ tbsp olive oil
100g cooking bacon, cut into small pieces
320g spaghetti
½ x 350g pack broccoli, stem diced, head cut into florets
50g spinach
3 eggs
50g pack grated pecorino

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the bacon for 7-10 mins, stirring regularly, until golden and crisp.

2. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti for 7 mins, or until al dente, adding the broccoli after 2 mins and the spinach for the final 1 min.

3. Mix the eggs with most of the pecorino and some black pepper in a bowl.

4. Drain the pasta and vegetables, reserving 100ml of pasta water, then return to the pan. Add the bacon, and any oil from the pan, and mix well. Gradually pour in the egg mixture, stirring continuously to cook the eggs in the residual heat of the pasta. Add enough of the reserved pasta water to get a smooth, silky sauce – you may not need it all. Top with the remaining pecorino and a little more black pepper to serve.

Wednesday: Brown rice and courgette soup

1 tbsp olive oil
2 small red onions, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 courgettes, cut into chunks
200g easy-cook brown rice, rinsed
1 vegetable stock cube, made up to 1.5ltr
325g tin sweetcorn, drained
75g spinach
1 lemon, zested and juiced
bread and butter, to serve (optional)

1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over a medium heat. Fry the onions for 5-7 mins until starting to soften. Add the garlic and cook for 2 mins.

2. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the courgettes. Cook for 5 mins until starting to colour. Add the rice and stock; bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 22-25 mins until the rice is tender. For a thicker soup, remove from the heat and blitz with a stick blender, then return to the heat.

3. Add the sweetcorn and spinach and cook for a further 2-3 mins until the spinach has wilted. Stir in the lemon juice. Ladle into bowls and garnish with the lemon zest and extra black pepper. Serve with bread and butter, if you like.

Friday: Sausage and tomato frittata

½ tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
4 reduced-fat Cumberland sausages from a 454g pack, sliced into 1cm chunks
8 eggs
15g fresh basil, ¾ roughly chopped
1 tsp crushed chillies
½ x 250g pack Nightingale Farms cherry tomatoes, quartered
150g Redmere Farms spinach

1. Preheat the grill to high. Heat the oil in an ovenproof frying pan (about 23cm) over a high heat. Add the onion and sausages and fry for 10 mins, stirring regularly, until cooked through and caramelised.

2. Beat the eggs in a large jug. Mix in the chopped basil and crushed chillies; season. Pour over the onion and sausages in the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 5 mins until setting at the edges. Scatter over the tomatoes. Grill for 6-7 mins until set and golden.

3. Meanwhile, put the spinach in a colander and pour over boiling water to wilt. Use the back of a spoon to press out excess liquid. Slice the frittata into wedges, scatter over the remaining basil leaves and serve with the wilted spinach.