3 Budget Dinners Under $50 NZD - Greek Soup, Cabbage Rolls and Mexican Chicken

Three COMPLETELY different dinners, lunches for the week, and it all came from one supermarket shop at New World, Wanaka for $50.69. Yes, 69 cents over. The carrots only came in a bag. Forgive me please!

What's Included

Three dinners for two to three people with leftovers for lunch: a silky Greek lemon chicken soup on Monday, impressive chicken cabbage rolls on Wednesday, and spiced Mexican pulled chicken with bean chilli on Friday. One chicken shop, one cabbage, one set of spices used three different ways, and not a single thing wasted. The chicken legs gave the soup its depth. The cabbage stalks went into the roll filling instead of the bin. The pickled onions made on Wednesday sat in the fridge and finished Friday's plate.

Monday Night: Avgolemono - Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

A traditional Greek lemon and egg chicken soup that most people have never heard of, and once you make it you will never stop. No cream, no thickener: just eggs and lemon whisked together and slowly tempered into a rich chicken and orzo broth until it turns silky, golden, and deeply comforting. It is, genuinely, like summer sunshine in a winter bowl.

Avgolemono Greek Lemon Chicken Soup - Silky Greek lemon chicken soup thickened with eggs and orzo. No cream needed. Ready in under an hour.

Wednesday Night: Chicken Cabbage Rolls in Spiced Tomato Cream Sauce

The dinner that makes people think you have been cooking all day. Caramelised chicken and vegetable filling rolled in blanched cabbage leaves, simmered in a spiced tomato broth, finished with a blended cream sauce and quick pickled red onions on top. The inner stalks of the cabbage go straight into the filling so nothing is wasted. This one is genuinely impressive.

Chicken Cabbage Rolls in Spiced Tomato Cream Sauce - Caramelised chicken rolls in spiced tomato broth with a blended cream sauce and pickled onions. Budget cooking at its most impressive.

Friday Night: Mexican Pulled Chicken with Bean Chilli, Chips and Slaw

Friday night sorted. Chicken drumsticks cooked in a spiced tomato sauce until they fall apart, paired with a rich bean chilli, crispy chips, a fresh lemony cabbage slaw, and those leftover pickled onions from Wednesday. The sauce does double duty: half goes in with the chicken to cook, half becomes the base for the chilli. One pot, two jobs, maximum flavour.

Mexican Pulled Chicken with Bean Chilli, Chips and Cabbage Slaw - Spiced pulled chicken with bean chilli, crispy chips and lemony slaw. Proper Friday night fakeaway on a budget.

The Shopping List

Everything bought for these dinners was at New World, Wanaka. Total spend: $50.69.

• Pams Value Tomatoes Whole Peeled x4 - $3.80
• Pams Four Bean Mix x1 - $1.35
• Pams Free Range Eggs - $5.49
• Maggi Stock Powder - $3.89
• Pams Cream 300ml - $3.05
• Carrots - $3.49
• Onions - $1.22
• Red Peeled Onion - $0.80
• Cabbage Green - $3.89
• Potatoes - $1.81
• Lemons - $3.05
• Ingham Chicken Drumsticks - $9.30
• Chicken Breast Schnitzel - $4.49
• Lemons - $0.64
• Mushrooms - $1.86
• Pams Spice Mix Taco - $1.25
• San Remo Risoni 500g - $2.99

From home: olive oil, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato ketchup, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, taco seasoning (top-up), dried dill, garlic, celery (from the fridge), salt and pepper

Why This Collection Works

This is the episode that proves Savvy Suppers is about more than just spending under $50. The chicken legs gave the avgolemono its depth. The cabbage stalks went into the roll filling instead of the bin. The pickled onions made on Wednesday sat in the fridge and finished Friday's plate. The last quarter of cabbage became the slaw. Everything connected. Three completely different cuisines from one $50 shop and going 69 cents over because the carrots only came in a bag? Can you believe I couldn't by them LOSE! I will take that trade every single time.

Related Pages

3 Budget Dinners Under $50 NZD - Prawns, Dahl and Pizza - The previous Savvy Suppers episode: spicy prawn noodles, lentil dahl with flatbreads, and a pizza. All three dinners from one shop.

The Best Crispy Crunchy Air Fryer Chips - Del's full method for getting chips golden and crisp every time, used in Friday's Mexican pulled chicken plate.

This is one of my favourite Savvy Suppers episodes because everything in the shop earned its place three times over. If you are new to Savvy Suppers, this is a great episode to start with. The recipes are different enough to feel like three completely different nights, but the ingredient crossover makes the planning and shopping remarkably simple. Save this page, do the one shop, and you have your whole week sorted.

Enjoy!

Del x

From Greece to the Middle East to Mexico: three completely different dinners from one $50.69 shop, and not a single thing wasted.