Meal planning

So, I was reading this article recently and it said one of the top 10 things you can do to save time and keep your sanity, is to meal plan.  If you fail to plan, you plan to fail, right?   Well, not exactly, but it proves to be true with us in this case.

One of my friends has it down to a science.  Each night of the week is consistently the same.  Mondays are casserole, Tuesdays are Italian, Wednesdays are Mexican, etc.  The only rules I stick by are one beef night, two chicken, one or two pork, one fish, one crockpot and possibly a "wing it" night.  This works for me as I tend to get bored with food easily.
Country-Sister-in-law gave me this idea of meal planning!  A few years ago, we participated in an email chain where each person would send out their menu for the week.  Sounds weird, but believe me, if you were in a food rut (which happens here quite frequently), it helped spark a little creativity in the kitchen! 
Now that school is in full swing, and we are juggling the schedules of two in school (I can't imagine how busy it will get once #3 hits school), I need a plan and this will help!  

Here was our meal plan for last week:
Monday:  Mac n' Cheese, Salad and cupcakes (We were celebrating #2's birthday)
Tuesday:  Italian Sausage and Eggplant Strata (P-friendly)
Wednesday:  Roasted chicken with salad and roasted veggies
Thursday:  French onion soup with leftover chicken
Friday:  Meatza Pie
Saturday: Homemade chicken soup
Sunday:  Burgers/hotdogs with grilled veggies

It worked out great, but I am finding that crock pot meals might benefit me more.  Either that, or getting my act together with the meal prep while the two little ones are sleeping.  That would help too.

What works for all of you?  I'd love some ideas!