Seeking Balance Part 3 -- Meal Planning

I was talking with some other teacher friends about struggling to make meals during the school year.  When I told them about my favorite kitchen appliance, the crock pot, they agreed but weren't sure what to cook.  When I shared my favorite series of cookbooks, they each pulled out notebooks and wrote them down.  I thought I would share them with all of you:

Fix-It and Forget-It is designed for the busy cook.  The recipes are contributed by a number of cooks.  I make sure I use the recipes that cook 8-10 hours without an addition half-way through.  Sometimes I use the recipes as inspiration for my own creations.

This one is my favorite in the series:

I don't like long complicated recipes.  Often several of the items are already in my pantry.  I can write the one or two remaining items on the shopping list for the week.

There are also some editions for special diets:

There is something about walking in the front door from work and knowing dinner is ready.

What is your meal-planning strategy?  I would love to hear about it.