Cheesy Chicken and Rice Skillet Dinner with Bacon

Photo: Jenny Flake

A Skillet Dinner with More Oomph Than You'd Expect
This dish is a kind of American take on fried rice—or, seen another way, a casserole that requires no oven preheating or half hour of baking time. It consists of rice, bacon, cheddar and—the star ingredient—shredded rotisserie chicken. The meat helps add heft; and, if you shred it using two forks instead of your fingers, it'll stay fluffy (not chunky) and the entire dish will taste light, yet still filling.

Get the recipe: Cheesy Chicken and Rice Skillet Dinner with Bacon
Enchiladas

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Easy (No, Really) Enchiladas
This simple take on the beloved Mexican casserole comes together surprisingly quickly. The recipe has you dice the chicken, but don't get hung up on keeping the pieces too uniform: squares, rectangles, trapezoids—all are welcome, since refried beans and cheese will help hold everything together. You spread the meat, along with the beans and cheese, over tortillas; roll them up and place them in a baking dish; then bake.

Get the recipe: Chicken Enchiladas
Skillet Chicken Mushroom Potpie

Photo: Stephanie Foley/Food & Wine

A Delicious Way to Revive Not-Quite-Juicy Meat
Chicken pot pie is beloved for its beautiful presentation, its delightful contrast of crust and filling and its ability to comfort on a cold night. But an often overlooked perk to the classic dinner is how brilliantly it reinvents roasted chicken. The meat, which can become dry a day or two after roasting, becomes tender and juicy again when it's surrounded by a savory, piping-hot mixture of chicken stock, onion, mushrooms and carrots, and then baked.

Get the recipe: Skillet Chicken Mushroom Potpie
Chicken Tortellini Noodle Soup

Photo: Thinkstock

Chicken Soup Does Not Get Any Simpler Than This
It sounds like we're exaggerating when we say that to make this soup, you just throw all the ingredients in a pot and let them bubble away. Yet, that really is all there is to it (shredding the chicken is the most labor-intensive part—but you can do it while the vegetables are simmering in the stock). Store-bought cheese tortellini go in at the end, along with the shredded chicken, for a warm and satisfying supper.

Get the recipe: Chicken Tortellini Noodle Soup
Chicken Salad

Photo: Dana Gallagher

A Meal You Won't Have to Make Another Shopping List For
The beauty of chicken salad isn't just that it's a completely different way to enjoy leftover roast chicken after eating it hot the night before—it's also that you can adapt it based on whatever you have on hand. If you don't have peppers or celery, swap in any other veggies, from pieces of lightly cooked asparagus to canned artichoke hearts. Or, skip the walnuts and throw in almonds. Nearly any herb will work, too.

Get the recipe: Chicken Salad

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