Menu Planning Monday: Cooking from the Pantry

This week I decided to try an experiment with my menu planning. I have done a lot of bargain shopping lately, and my pantry is stuffed with random items that I got for half price or less. Also, I still have several beef roasts in my freezer that my friend had given me from her in-laws' cattle.

So I decided to try to use up what I have and buy only the very minimum at the store for the next two weeks. It will be fun to see how much under my food budget I can stay! And to motivate myself, I plan to use my savings to buy a few extra things for my girls at my favorite children's consignment sale coming up in March.

Here's what I pulled out of my pantry (I have multiples of some of these items as well):

In addition, I have the roasts, some ground beef and chicken, and some frozen vegetables.

So here's what I came up with:

Mon - Leftover turkey from the weekend
Tues - Slow-Cooked Rump Roast, scalloped potatoes
Wed - Vegetable beef soup, homemade bread

Thurs - Leftover pot roast from Monday
Fri - Egg and bean burritos w. homemade tortillas
Sat - Leftover soup
Sun - Spaghetti and meat sauce, bread, salad

Mon - Beef stroganoff w. egg noodles, salad
Tues - Mardi Gras party
Wed - Black bean tortilla soup (from mix), tortilla strips (Ash Wednesday)
Thurs - Leftover stroganoff
Fri - Pasta w. Marinara sauce, salad, bread
Sat - Chicken soup, homemade bread

The only ingredients I'll need for this menu will be salad ingredients, onions, and cilantro for the chicken soup. I'll also need a few lunch items and some staples such as milk, but hopefully I'll be able to stay well under budget! I'll share how I did after my shopping trip today.

PS - Check back tomorrow for a new kind of post and some exciting news!