Long ago when cooking for a family, I used to plan the week by category. Even overseas, Weds was Italian from some commercial that was on tv in the 50s? 60s? (Help me out you others of 'a certain age'.) It was usually some form of spaghetti, or lasagna or shells if I was in the mood. A simple one for Weds is also pasta carbonara or pasta puttanesca if the troops can take a bit more heat.
Make one day chicken day, and I will dredge up a recipe or two from the depths of my computer for another post. One day vegetarian, one day beef, and for us we often have soup on Saturday night. Here is a link to a crockpot one
Cooking My Life: Portuguese Soupas I haven't made in a while.
And to finally answer your question of our favorites? I don't like to cook the same thing twice. But he likes....meatloaf, mash and green beans. Posole. Most any kind of Indian curry, the hotter the better but often with halibut that he catches in Alaska. I used to spend a lot of time on the cooking forum
Cooking - GardenWeb when I was still working and could think of something I was in the mood for. I am fortunate to be married to someone who'll eat most anything, tho he's not keen on couscous, orzo or mushrooms.
btw, I too do what planning I do based on what's on sale that week. We are fortunate to have 3 major chains in one area in addition to a Whole Foods and Trader Jo's. I also have an Asian grocer that I can visit on Tues or Thurs when I'm tutoring.