Starting to Menu Plan Again & Food Budget

I'm trying to get back into the habit of menu planning.  With school starting back up this week it's important that I don't have to spend extra time every day on figuring out what to make.  It's also vital to plan our menu for our budget!  I'm able to buy a lot less when I only buy what we are going to eat!

I made up a menu last Wednesday when we got back from the Feast of Tabernacles in Escondido, CA.  I made the menu for a full week and a half because I knew I wasn't going to go shopping this last weekend.

Here is the full plan, even though we are almost half way through it now!

Wednesday:  Cheesy Broccoli & Cauliflower Soup, Quick Yeast Rolls
Thursday: Enchilada Casserole
Friday: Roasted Chicken, Delicata Squash Green Beans (farm didn't have squash for me yet), Mushroom/Spinach Quinoa
Saturday: Chicken Salad Sandwhiches, Chips & Veggies
Sunday: Cream of Mushroom Soup, Biscuits
Monday: Salmon Patties, Green Beans, Squash I spent all day in homeschool planning so we got a take-n-bake pizza!
Tuesday: Spicy Lentils with Sweet Potatoes & Kale (new recipe)
Wednesday: Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry
Thursday: Frittata w/ leftover veggies (this may be a late night, so I might scratch this!)
Friday: Lamb Stew, Rolls, Apple Pie/Cobbler
Saturday: Chile Chicken Burgers (Trader Joes) & Green Beans

Considering that we had been gone for two weeks, I didn't have to buy much to flesh this out.  I had all the meat in the freezer already.  I spent $62 between two stops at the grocery store, $12 for milk & eggs at the farm, plus another $14 for the pizza.  The $62 included snacks, treats, lunch fixings, etc.

I don't have a budget set in stone at this time, but I'm working on it.  I buy a lot in bulk and have a 1/4 cow coming soon, so it makes it difficult to figure out the exact budgeting.  My goal for the next couple months is to track what we buy and how much we spend ~ including eating out & coffees.  Then I can judge from there what our actual budget should be.