5 easy family dinners for £25 with Colman's

Monday: Tuna bake jackets

4 baking potatoes, scrubbed
2 tbsp olive oil
425ml semi-skimmed milk
44g pack Colman’s tuna pasta bake recipe mix
2 x 145g tins tuna chunks in brine, drained
50g grated medium Cheddar
25g pack ready-salted crisps, crumbled
320g frozen peas
1 lemon, zested and juiced
15g fresh mint, leaves shredded, reserving a few for garnish
2 spring onions, finely sliced

1. Preheat the oven to gas 6, 200°C, fan 180°C fan. Prick the potatoes all over with a fork and drizzle each with ½ tbsp oil. Bake for 1hr-1hr 15 mins until tender and crisp.

2. Meanwhile, mix the milk and Colman’s tuna pasta bake recipe mix in a medium saucepan and heat over a medium heat. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5-7 mins until slightly thickened. Remove the pan from the heat and stir through the tuna. 

3. Once the potatoes are tender, halve them lengthways and scoop out the flesh with a spoon and add it to the tuna mixture along with half the cheese. Mix to combine, then pile the filling back into the potatoes to fill them generously. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese and the crisps. Bake for a further 10 mins.

4. Meanwhile, simmer the peas in a pan of boiling water for 3-5 mins until tender, then drain and return to the pan. Add the remaining oil and half the lemon juice. Roughly mash using a fork or a potato masher. Stir through the mint, season to taste, adding a touch more lemon juice if desired.

5. Divide the potatoes and crushed peas between 4 plates and scatter the spring onion over the potatoes. Top the peas with extra mint and lemon zest and garnish with black pepper to serve.

Wednesday: Mixed bean Bolognese

1½ tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, sliced
175g frozen sliced leeks
2 garlic cloves, crushed
15g fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves and stalks separated, finely chopped
44g pack Colman’s spaghetti Bolognese recipe mix
½ reduced-salt vegetable stock cube, made up to 100ml
400g tin plum tomatoes
400g three bean salad in water, drained and rinsed
275g spaghetti
½ ciabatta roll (40g), blitzed to crumbs

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and leeks and cook for 5-7 mins, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften. Add the garlic and parsley stalks and cook for 1 min.

2. Add the Colman’s spaghetti Bolognese recipe mix to the pan along with the stock and tinned tomatoes. Break the tomatoes up with a wooden spoon and reduce the heat to medium-low; simmer gently for 10 mins. Add the bean salad and simmer for a further 5 mins. 

3. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti to pack instructions until tender but still with some bite. Drain and add to the pasta sauce, tossing well to combine.

4. Heat the remaining oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the breadcrumbs to the pan and fry for 3-5 mins until golden, stirring frequently. Tip into a bowl and add the chopped parsley leaves and some seasoning. Mix to combine.

5. To serve, divide the pasta between 4 shallow bowls, spooning the sauce over the top. Scatter over the herby breadcrumbs and serve immediately.

Friday: Chicken casserole drumsticks

900g pack chicken drumsticks
2 tbsp olive oil
40g pack Colman’s chicken casserole recipe mix
1 chicken stock cube, made up to 800ml
2 red onions, sliced
350g frozen sliced leeks
2 garlic cloves, crushed
15g fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves and stalks separated and finely chopped
240g easy-cook brown rice

1. Preheat the oven to gas 7, 220°C, fan 200°C. Place the chicken on a large baking tray lined with nonstick baking paper. Drizzle with 1 tbsp oil and scatter over the Colman’s chicken casserole recipe mix. Toss well, to fully coat the chicken, then roast in the oven for around 40 mins until the skin is crisp and the chicken is cooked through.

2. Meanwhile, put the stock in a medium saucepan over a medium-high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and keep warm while you make the risotto.

3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the onions and leeks and cook for 5 mins, stirring occasionally, until slightly golden. Add the garlic and parsley stalks and cook for 1 min, then add the rice. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 1 min, then add a ladle of the hot stock. Cook, stirring occasionally, until evaporated, then add the next ladle of stock. Continue to add the stock gradually for about 25 mins until the rice is cooked and all the stock has been used.

4. To serve, divide the risotto between 4 plates and divide the chicken drumsticks between the plates. Scatter over the parsley leaves and serve immediately.