Winner, winner leftover chicken dinner!

Chicken is a blank canvas, just plain and simple and in desperate need of some TLC. You can be boring and boil the life out of your chicken until it is as tough as shoe leather, or you can season the meat and cook it properly so it is tender and juicy and finger-licking good. I’ll choose the latter option please and thank you!

Since chicken is so versatile, you can really get creative in its preparation. Stuffed, fried, broiled, sautéed, baked, braised, stewed, sous vide, confit, you name it! And what’s even more amazing is chicken goes so well with just about any ingredient you have already in your pantry or refrigerator. Want to use up some on-the-verge-of-going-stale items in your pantry? Chicken is your friend! Are the herbs in your pantry losing their potency? Throw them on some chicken! That pint of heavy cream in your fridge that’s about to expire? Yup, you can use that in your chicken dish too!

Here are three recipes I created to use up some leftover ingredients you have lying around. Serve all three of these dishes with a side of steamed broccoli and brown rice for a healthy, balanced meal.

Braised chicken in Dijon and white wine

**Uses up leftover veggies and that lonely bottle of Dijon on your condiment shelf

2 large chicken breasts
2 large carrots, coarsely cut into large chunks or sticks
3 stalks of celery, coarsely cut into large chunks or sticks
1 small onion, sliced into thick pieces
2 tsp. Dried thyme
2 tsp. Dried crushed rosemary
Salt and black pepper
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
3 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Meanwhile, prepare your chicken in your Dutch oven (such as a Le Creuset or Staub). Arrange the carrots, celery, and onions at the bottom of the pot. Season the chicken with salt, black pepper, thyme, rosemary, and extra virgin olive oil. Lay the seasoned chicken breasts on top of the vegetables. Pour in the white wine around the chicken. Place the lid on the pot and place in the oven. Allow the chicken to braise for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 F. Once the chicken is cooked through, remove the chicken breasts and braised veggies from the pot and set aside. Place the pot on the stove and bring the pot to a medium-high heat. With a silicon-coated whisk, mix in the Dijon mustard and bring to a low simmer. Place the chicken and vegetables back in the pot and gently stir to coat in the sauce. Turn off the heat and keep warm until ready to serve.

Cheesy, tortilla-encrusted chicken

**Uses up cheese in your cheese drawer and the crumbs from the bottom of the tortilla chip bag that no one will eat

2 large chicken breasts
2 oz. dill Havarti cheese or white cheddar (whichever you prefer), thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. dark chili powder
1 cup crushed tortilla chips
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the tortilla chips in a large sandwich bag, seal the bag, then crush the chips using your hands until the chips are pulverized into a small grind. You can also grind the tortilla chips in a food processor if you prefer. Then add the chili powder to the crushed chips and mix together. Place the tortilla chip crumbs in a shallow dish and set aside. For the chicken, lay the breasts flat on a cutting board and place your hand flat on top of the breast as if you were holding it in place. Then, using a boning knife, make a horizontal incision into the long, exposed side of the breast and cut almost to the other side, leaving just enough so that the chicken is still connected. You are essentially butterflying the meat here. Open up the meat like a book and place the slices of cheese inside. Fold the top half of the chicken back down. Carefully holding the chicken together, place the chicken into the dish of crushed tortilla chips and coat the chicken all around. Once the chicken is completely covered in the chips, place the chicken on the foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 F.

Chicken stuffed with brie

**Uses up the extra brie you have lying around leftover from the party last weekend the crackers that went with that brie, and again, that lonely bottle of Dijon mustard

2 large chicken breasts
2 oz. brie cheese, thinly sliced
1 cup crushed crackers (any kind of cracker will work well here)
3 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the crackers in a large sandwich bag, seal the bag, then crush the crackers using your hands until they are pulverized into a small grind. You can also grind the crackers in a food processor if you prefer. Place the cracker crumbs in a shallow dish and set aside. For the chicken, lay the breasts flat on a cutting board and place your hand flat on top of the breast as if you were holding it in place. Then, using a boning knife, make a horizontal incision into the long, exposed side of the breast and cut almost to the other side, leaving just enough so that the chicken is still connected. You are essentially butterflying the meat here. Open up the meat like a book and place the slices of brie inside. Fold the top half of the chicken back down. Carefully holding the chicken together, place the chicken into the dish of crushed crackers and coat the chicken all around. Once the chicken is completely covered in the cracker crumbs, place the chicken on the foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 F.