Once upon a time, I would cook up a stew or two on weekends, get a pan of lasagna made, bake potatoes for the week - all that to make my work week easier. Then I discovered that unless I specifically told the kids to heat something up, it didn't get done until I got home. It was still easier and cheaper than going out to eat, but I lost my weekends to cooking.
I did continue to plan, but my recipes became very basic, food you could cook in 30 minutes or less. Now the kids are grown and not too much food planning or cooking goes on.