Menu Planning or Not?

Myrnie asks:

"What does your family do? Do you plan your meals in advance, go grocery shopping on Saturday, and sleep soundly at night knowing what your family will eat for the next 7 days? Do you dive headfirst into the cupboards or freezer at 5:30 hoping you can find another "ten-minute-meal" for your hungry horde? Make a vat of something every Monday and blithely assume you'll serve it ad nauseum to a willing and adoring family?
And, more importantly...what DOES your family eat?
Inquiring minds want to know!"
 
I tend to make it up as I go. Sometimes I'll look up recipes at Allrecipes.com ingredients search when I need to use something up, but for the most part, I keep my cupboards/refrigerator stocked with the basics, and then I combine ingredients in creative ways, playing with spices and sauces. Generally the meals consist of a meat or bean, a starch(pastas or rice), and mixed vegetables(frozen). Meal bases are white or red sauces, or sometimes just seasoning, occasionally cooking wine.

Tonight we had ground turkey seasoned with chopped onions, a can of Margaret Holmes Seasoned Field Peas and Snaps(dollar store), and other spices. I served this over a pot of white rice cooked with frozen chopped green peppers(on sale a while back) and little chicken stock. It was delicious and very flavorful.

Tomorrow night we may have some baked lemon chicken breasts(boneless skinless Target brand) and mixed veggies(frozen Food Lion brand), or we may have some spaghetti with a side of Italian mixed veggies(frozen Food Lion Brand).

Another night this week we may have some homemade mac-n-cheese with a side of sweet potatoes, although I try not to make this too often because it's so fattening.

Every afternoon, I'll poke my head in the freezer and decide which meat to defrost. That sets the tone for the rest of the meal. By 4:00 p.m., I can visualize what I'll be making for dinner.

Now it's your turn...how to you handle dinner?