The Dinner Dilema

I'm completely out of ideas. I feel like I spend way too much time in the kitchen and yet am never really happy with the resulting dinner. I've been asking my husband what he wants, but his usual response is "whatever you make." Although, he will eat anything without complaining, he is actually pickier than he realizes. He doesn't like most things that I like, for instance spaghetti, grilled cheese and tomato soup, salads, or almost anything Italian. He also doesn't like soup or casseroles. So much for all those emails I get about quick and easy dinners!
He has recently started the Atkins plans which really limits my options, I can no longer make tacos (his favorite) or stir fry with rice (another favorite). I got to point where it felt like I was making the same dinner every night. So around 4:30 I would start wondering what was for dinner. I seemed to spend the next half hour searching the internet for that recipe I use last week or one that uses ingredients I have on hand.
I've tried in the past to make a dinner menu, but so far, it hasn't worked. Once I made a monthly menu and even did the bulk of my shopping in one trip, making smaller trips to get fresh produce and milk. But our lives got chaotic and I threw a ton of food away. I've made weekly menus with a similar outcome. But I'm ready to try again. I'm tired of feeling like I'm spending too much time in the kitchen and not enough time with my family. I love to bake! It's relaxing, fun, and enjoyable. The same is not true about making dinner, especially not when I have two hunger toddlers in tow.
I knew I would need my husbnad's help so I caught my husband while he was preparing to smoke some salmon. I sat next to him and asked him what meals he wanted, making suggestions, and asking how often he wanted each meal. I also asked what sides he wanted served with each main course, although I had to do most of that part myself.
My plan is to gather all the recipes we use often, whether from cookbooks or online and then write them 3x5 cards and include what to serve with each main dish. At the beginning of the week, I'll make a meal plan based on the list of dinners we came up and then make a grocery list. My goal is to have dinner ready each night at 5:00, which will hopefully reduce the crankiness from the little ones. I'm hoping that with this plan, I'll be able to do some dinner prep the night before or throughout the day. We'll see! I also made a rough lunch plan idea, hopefully this will help clean out the pantry and freezer!
Oh and by the way, my husband is doing awesome on Atkins! In one month, he has lost 30 pounds!!!