King Ranch chicken

This is Tex-Mex from the casserole dish rather than the restaurant: layers of tortillas, shredded chicken, cheese and canned soup, baked until bubbling. Nobody really knows where it came from, and the famous ranch in its name is known for its beef, not chicken. What it lacks in pedigree it makes up for in ease. It is the most forgiving dish on this list for a home cook, assembled from pantry staples and a store-bought chicken, and it feeds a crowd from one pan.