I don’t know about you, but sometimes the hardest part of dinner is figuring out what to make. Making it usually isn’t that bad… its the deciding.
I’ll look in the refrigerator. I’ll check the freezer. I’ll open the pantry like something new is magically going to appear. Eventually, I will ask myself “What are we eating?”
This is the point when I end up making one of the same dinners we’ve had a hundred times. And I’m okay with that. Those are the dinners that work.
Those are the dinners we like, I usually have ingredients for, and I don’t have to spend an hour cooking.
So, I have decided to start keeping track of them. I’m calling them Back Pocket Dinners.
What is a Back Pocket Dinner?
A Back Pocket Dinner is just one of those meals you can reach for when you need an easy dinner idea.
It doesn’t have to be fancy. It doesn’t have to be a new recipe. It doesn’t even have to be particularly exciting.
It just needs to be good, dependable, and worth making again.
For us, that might be tacos. Cheeseburgers. Brats and pasta salad. Smoked sausage and penne. A casserole. BBQ ham sandwiches.
You know… dinner.
Some of these are recipes I’ve already shared here, and some are meals that have just become part of our regular rotation.
And that’s really what I want this collection to be – the meals we actually make.
Not a list of 100 dinners that sound good in theory but require a grocery trip for seven ingredients you’ve never heard of.
Just meals that have earned their spot.
Why I Wanted a Back Pocket
I started thinking about this because I realized I already do this in my own meal planning.
When I’m planning out the week, I don’t want to come up with seven completely different dinners.
Sometimes I have a recipe I want to try.
Sometimes I know we have something in the freezer that needs to be used.
Sometimes we’re going to be busy one night and I need something easy.
And sometimes I just need to look at a list and pick something because my brain has decided it is officially done making dinner decisions.
That’s where the Back Pocket Dinners come in.
Think of them as your “I don’t know what to make” list.
How I’m Using Them with My Meal Planner
This is probably my favorite part.
When you’re filling out your weekly meal planner, you don’t have to start from scratch every single week.
Maybe you already know you want to try one new recipe.
Great. Put that on the menu.
Then look at the rest of your week.
Have a busy Tuesday? Pick a Back Pocket Dinner. Need something easy for Thursday? Pick another one.
Have no idea what to make on Friday? There’s the back pocket again.
You can mix them in with new recipes, leftovers, takeout, breakfast for dinner, or whatever else is happening that week.
There are no rules.
The goal isn’t to make the perfect meal plan.
It’s just to make filling in those empty spaces a little easier.
Where You’ll Find Them
I’ve created a Back Pocket Dinners page here on City Girl Farm Life where I’ll keep the collection together.
As I add more dinners, they’ll live there so you don’t have to remember the name of a recipe or dig through old posts to find something you liked.
You can stop by when you’re planning your week, when you’re stuck on dinner, or when you just need a few ideas.
I’ll be adding recipes as they earn their way into the collection. Some may be meals we’ve been making for years. Some may be newer recipes that have become favorites.
And some may be so simple that you’ll probably wonder if they even count as a recipe.
A Few Already in the Pocket
There are already some meals that I know belong here.
Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Meatballs are one.
Crescent Roll Taco Pizza is another.
Then there are things like cheeseburgers, quesaritos, brats and pasta salad, smoked sausage and penne, and easy chicken and broccoli casserole.
They’re all different, but they have one thing in common:
They’re meals I would make again. And that’s really the test.
We’ll Keep Adding to It
I don’t expect this to become a perfectly organized list overnight. I’ll keep adding dinners as I make them and find the ones that are worth remembering.
And hopefully, over time, the Back Pocket Dinners page will become one of those places you can go when you’re meal planning and thinking, Okay, I need three more dinners.
Pick three.
Put them on the planner.
Make your grocery list.
Move on with your week.
Because sometimes dinner doesn’t need to be a whole thing. Sometimes you just need a good meal that you already know works.
That’s what I’m putting in my back pocket.
