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It seems like I’ve taken on the challenge of finding new ways with leftovers, and I have to say I’m enjoying it! Here are some smart hacks for leftovers, and here are some ways to specifically use up leftover cake. There’s sometimes no way to avoid leftovers, and for some reason they have a bad rap. I’m not really sure why; if a meal was good the first time around, shouldn’t leftovers be almost like a bonus where you get to enjoy the same food twice? Makes sense to me, but I guess it can get a little boring to have the same meal over again. It’s still a crime to throw out food, and it’s actually kind of fun to transform the leftovers into a new meal, and usually not even all that hard to do. Here are some easy ideas for leftover chicken:

1. Toss into a salad:

I’m a firm believer that pretty much anything can go into a salad, and chicken is one of my favorite add-ins. Grilled, roasted, or cooked any other way adding chicken to a salad turns it into a satisfying meal.

2. Pasta salad:

Chop up some chicken and add to your favorite pasta salad. This makes a complete summer meal for when it’s too hot to cook, and it’s great to serve at a party.

3. Chicken salad:

Here’s my favorite “recipe” for a basic chicken salad: Chop or shred the chicken, add some pickles, and stir in some mayo and mustard.

4. Make a wrap:

You can make a chicken salad wrap, or don’t even bother with the chicken salad, and just layer on slices of chicken and whatever you like to put in your wraps.

5. Amp up a soup:

There’s chicken soup, of course, but here I’m talking about adding some chicken to any other kind of soup for some extra heartiness. Since the chicken is already cooked, add it to the pot at the very end just to warm it up.

6. Tacos:

Shred up the leftover chicken and warm it up with taco seasoning, then build your tacos. Instant meal!

7. Stir fry:

Stir fry some veggies and add the cooked chicken for an easy stir fry dinner.

8. Fried rice:

This a great way to use leftover rice, too! Chop the chicken and add to fried rice for extra flavor and protein. Here’s a recipe for Easy Vegetable Fried Rice.

9. Chicken pot pie:

Transform your leftovers into this warm comfort food. Here’s an easy recipe.

What’s your favorite way to use leftover chicken? Share with us on Facebook and Twitter!

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