I have challenges as well, with my husband working nights, and my kids in after-school sports (they have practices everyday from 3-5, my husband leaves for work at 4), so we typically eat our dinner at 1 P.M.
What I do is plan three days in advance. I utilize the crockpot often-but actually have to do this the day before we eat it since we eat so early. I also make a larger quantity than needed, then freeze the leftovers. When I pull them out of the freezer a month or two later, they are not considered leftovers! And there was no extra work involved.