Easy Chicken Melts

Amber drove to work alone for the first time this week. Monday morning, 8 a.m., in the Taurus, in her pool snack bar polo, with the keys she had to hold with both hands on her birthday. I stood at the kitchen window with Dave and watched her back out of the driveway and make the turn at the stop sign. Dave said, "She's a good driver." I said, "She checks her mirrors three times." He said, "That's because of you." I said, "That's because of you." He did not argue. We drank coffee. The Taurus disappeared down the street. My first baby is mobile. I do not know what to do with the space that leaves behind.

Football started. Justin is 14 and going into his sophomore year at GISH and the coaches have him running drills with the JV squad and occasionally with varsity. He comes home at six every evening soaked through and ravenous and silent, and I feed him and he goes to bed at nine like a man who has been working for thirty years. Tyler is lifting with him sometimes, not because Tyler plays football but because Justin asked and Tyler said yes, which is the kind of quiet brotherhood that makes me sit on the back porch at night wondering how I got this lucky.

The cookbook cover conversation started this week. Sarah sent three mockups. The first had a woman in a plaid shirt at a stove — too fake, too staged, not me. The second had a semi truck on a highway — too literal, too much like a trade paperback about trucking. The third was a photograph of a slow cooker on a dashboard with the sun coming up over I-80 behind it, the kind of photograph that told the truth. I said yes to the third one in an email that took me an hour to write because the email was the first real piece of evidence that this is an actual book, with an actual cover, and not a document on my laptop that I could still decide to delete if I lost my nerve. I am not going to lose my nerve. I am going to finish the book.

Made chicken and dumplings Sunday, which is a winter meal I cooked anyway because the air conditioning was cranked and the kitchen was cool and Josie asked. Josie asking for a meal is like the governor calling — you do the thing. The dumplings came out soft, the broth came out thick, Dave ate two bowls, Tyler asked me to teach him how to make them, which I will, because Tyler asking to be taught is the rarest and most precious currency in the Novak household. We had leftovers for lunch Monday and for dinner Monday because when I make chicken and dumplings I make chicken and dumplings like I am feeding the Second Marine Division.

Gayle is drinking water. Half a pitcher a day. She says it tastes like nothing. I say that is what water tastes like. She says she preferred not knowing. She is fine.

The chicken and dumplings were gone by Monday dinner — which, when you make them for a household that includes a sophomore who lifts weights and runs drills until six, is about exactly how long you can expect them to last. I keep this Easy Chicken Melts recipe in my back pocket for exactly that reason: it’s fast, it’s warm, it puts cheese on things, and it buys me twenty minutes of silence from people who were certain they were going to starve. Tyler has already asked to learn the dumplings, but this one he could figure out on his own by Tuesday — and honestly, that might be the point.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 20 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
4 hoagie or sub rolls, split lengthwise
1 cup shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons butter, softened

Instructions

Preheat the broiler. Set your oven broiler to high and position a rack about 6 inches from the heat. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
Mix the chicken filling. In a medium bowl, combine shredded chicken, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Stir until evenly coated.
Prep the rolls. Spread a thin layer of softened butter on the cut sides of each roll. Place them cut-side up on the prepared baking sheet.
Build the melts. Divide the chicken mixture evenly among the roll halves, spreading it to the edges. Top each with a generous layer of shredded cheese.
Broil until bubbly. Slide the baking sheet under the broiler and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, watching closely, until the cheese is fully melted, golden, and beginning to bubble at the edges.
Serve immediately. Transfer to plates and serve hot. A simple green salad or sliced fruit alongside is enough — the melt does the heavy lifting.

Nutrition (per serving)

Easy Chicken Melts — The Weeknight Chicken That Keeps This House Running