Rumors of an early 2026 release for an entry-level MacBook with an iPhone chip continue to swirl. With an expected price range of between $700 and $900, its place in Apple’s laptop lineup is far from clear.
The M4 MacBook Air is hard to beat
If the rumors are indeed true, we can likely expect the new laptop to be called “MacBook,” so that’s the name we’re going to use here. And it makes sense, because that’s a name that Apple has used before.
But what the MacBook would be in 2026 makes for an interesting thought process. Where it would sit in a lineup that already has the $999 13-inch MacBook Air is even more of a quandary.
The sports executives whom Mark Walter and his Guggenheim Baseball Management trusted to turn around the Dodgers and make them World Series winners have now enlisted Farhan Zaidi and Andrew Friedman to take on advisory roles with the Lakers, people not authorized to speak publicly on the matter confirmed to The Times on Friday.
Walter, the controlling owner of the Dodgers, purchased majority ownership of the Lakers for a $10-billion evaluation and has started a transition from the Buss family ownership by having Zaidi and Friedman become more involved.
Zaidi is an advisor with Guggenheim and he was the former president of baseball operations with the San Francisco Giants and a former Dodgers general manager. He also has been consulting with the Sparks, another team that Walter owns.
Friedman is the president of baseball operations for the Dodgers and has overseen a team that has won three World Series titles in the last six years.
Both are known in the baseball world as executives who rely on analytics. The Lakers have been known as having a weak analytics department, so Zaidi and Friedman will play a role in improving that.
Friedman already has been talking with Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ president of basketball operations, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
The Lakers began making changes in their front office when they fired Joey and Jesse Buss as well as some scouts on Thursday.
Joey Buss was an alternate governor and vice president of research and development with the Lakers while Jesse was the team’s assistant general manager and head of the scouting department.
Fresh off winning a World Series with the Dodgers, Walter, who had been a minority owner of the Lakers since he bought 27% of the franchise with Todd Boehly in 2021, promptly sat courtside for the next Lakers home game Nov. 2. He looked on when the Lakers honored the world champion Dodgers at a home game on Nov. 5.
Walter was part of the group that purchased the Dodgers for $2 billion in 2012. Since then, the team has won three World Series titles in five appearances with 13 consecutive playoff berths.
China just placed its largest order of U.S. soybeans in two years, offering a sign of improving trade conditions after months of China snubbing American soybean farmers.
This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the sale of 792,000 metric tons of soybeans to China. The move follows a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the end of last month to ease trade tensions, with China committing to resume orders of U.S. soybeans and purchase 12 million tons of of the crop by the end of the year, as well as at least 25 million tons in each of the next three years.
Earlier this month, China bought 332,000 tons of U.S. soybeans, bringing the total so far in November to more than 1 million tons. COFCO, China’s largest state-owned agriculture and food business, had not ordered soybeans from the U.S. since May and had not purchased the crop since the 2025 U.S. harvest season began.
These fresh purchases offer hope for U.S. farmers following months of tariff disputes that disincentivized China from purchasing American soybeans and effectively priced them out of the global market. It’s a good start, industry leaders said, but farmers want more assurance of a steady market moving forward.
“We want to trust what we’ve heard,” Todd Main, the director of market development at the Illinois Soybean Association, told Fortune.
At the same time, farmers are fed up with the uncertainty that has unaccompanied the trade policy of the Trump administration.
“We are concerned about the volatility in the trade relationships,” Main continued. “It’s hard for people to make plans—whether that’s farmers planning for next year’s crop, or buyers that are planning to make big investments in equipment or facilities or what have you—where there’s lots of instability.”
In 2024, soybeans made up about 20% of U.S. “cash crop receipts,” worth about $46.8 billion, according to USDA data. While about a quarter of those soybeans went to China, retaliatory tariffs as a result of trade disputes with Beijing hobbled the U.S. soybean industry while South American countries gobbled up market share. Brazil and Argentina are replacing U.S. farmers, with Brazil making up about 71% of China’s soybean imports, according to the American Soybean Association. Three decades ago, Brazil accounted for just 2% of those imports.
A new trade era
Even with thawing relations between the U.S. and China, soybean farmers have reason to be on edge about restoring trade ties. For one, the USDA’s figures for soybean exports could be skewed and harder for economists and farmers to interpret. The USDA may not be releasing up-to-date weekly export summaries for the rest of the year as a result of the shutdown slowing down the release of key data. Therefore, farmers and economists rely more on the USDA reporting flash sales, or crop purchases that exceed a certain volume and warrant their own report.
Not everyone is sold on China’s commitment, either. StoneX chief commodities economist Arlan Suderman said in a note earlier this month that China’s data “provided no evidence to support the notion that there will be a substantial increase in state purchases to meet the 12 million metric ton commitment for calendar year 2025 as stated by the White House” and that China’s soybean processors have “zero financial incentive” to buy more U.S. supply because of the more affordable options from South America.
Main is likewise skeptical. He said during Trump’s first term, China and the U.S. similarly made an agreement to resume soybean trade, but there was a delay in initial follow-through from China.
The threat of future trade tensions hasn’t completely disappeared. The consequences of reopened tariff disputes between the U.S. and China would mean Brazil and Argentina would once again have another opportunity to expand their dominion over China’s soybean import market.
“Brazil is the largest producer and exporter of soybeans, and so the real concern has been, if we have another trade war, we’re incentivizing faster expansion in South America, which has long-run effects for us,” Scott Gerlt, chief economist for the American Soybean Association, told Fortune.
Still, soybean farmers aren’t completely at the mercy of fragile trade relations. Even before the 2025 slate of tariffs, soybean farmers have made inroads to diversify demand for their crops, including opening “soybean excellence centers” meant to provide training and best practices globally for soybean producers, as well as expand infrastructure to be able to process and distribute more soybeans domestically, according to Main. Others have found other trade partners, such as Southeast Asian buyers to partially offset lost business from China.
“It’s not going to be just, OK, everything’s all better—or, everything’s a disaster,” Main said. “It’s going to be somewhere in between going forward.”
Diageo (LSE: DGE) shares are stinking out my Self-Invested Personal Pension. When I bought the FTSE 100 spirits giant in January 2023 the stock had just plunged following a profit warning but I thought it would bounce back in no time. Wrong. It’s fallen 25% in the last year and more than 50% over five years. I’m personally down 36%.
I’ve held on in the hope of a turnaround, because patience is central to long-term investing, but at times I’ve been sorely tempted to get rid.
Two other SIPP holdings are testing my nerve too. Mining giant Glencore is down 10% over one year and 30% over three. Personally, I’m down 27%. Gencore did show signs of a recovery recently, but it fizzled out. Ocado Group is the real nightmare. The grocery specialist has plunged 38% over 12 months and more than 70% over three years. I’m down 55%.
There have been moments when I’ve wanted to clear the decks and tidy up my SIPP. On The Motley Fool, we only suggest buying shares with a minimum five-year view. I’m only two or three years into that. However, we also reckon it’s also worth reviewing the original investment case, to see if it still holds.
Checking the investment case
Diageo’s profit warning followed sales and stocking issues and in Latin America and the Caribbean. The issue has widened, with sales falling in the US, Europe, and China too, as drinkers feel hard up. Normally, I would sit tight and wait for the cost-of-living crisis to ease but in two respects, the investment case may have changed.
First, younger adults are drinking less. Second, weight-loss drugs may also suppress appetite for alcohol as well as food. Both could inflict a long-term structural blow to alcohol sales.
Yet I’m reluctant to sell. Incoming chief executive Sir Dave Lewis did a great job of turning Tesco around. I’m hoping he can repeat the magic at Diageo. Lewis doesn’t start until January, so I’m holding on. Today, Diageo looks reasonable value on a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.8, and the yield sits at 4.5%. Bargain hunters may consider buying at today’s price, but need to understand the risks.
Waiting for a cycle to turn
Glencore has been hit by weak demand from China and worries over a US recession. Yet commodity stocks move in cycles, and selling during the trough is rarely wise.
It’s my only natural resources stock, so I’m inclined to stay put for diversification purposes at least. Investors might consider buying Glencore while it’s out of favour, but it’s unlikely to soar in the short term.
Ocado suffered yet another blow on Tuesday (18 November) when US partner Kroger said it would shut three of its automated customer fulfilment centres. Ocado has eye-popping technology but the big question is whether there is a market for it. Probably not in the US now. It may just have set its sites too high.
I wouldn’t suggest anybody consider buying Ocado shares. They’re just too risky. After months of dithering, I’m close to selling. All three have tested my patience, but Ocado is running out of time.
Not until NBC informed him did Cris Collinsworth have any clue that Sunday night at SoFi Stadium would be his 500th NFL game as a color analyst. He wouldn’t have guessed that Tampa Bay at the Rams would put him anywhere close to that.
“That was just stunning to me,” said the folksy Collinsworth, still lanky and boyish at 66. “If you’d asked me, I would have said I’d worked maybe 250 or 300 games. … Wow, how did that happen?”
The former Cincinnati Bengals receiver, who once planned to be a lawyer after his playing career, has had 13 play-by-play partners, 17 seasons in the “Sunday Night Football” booth, 18 Sports Emmys … and a singular passion.
“You’ve got to really love football, and that’s what it’s come down to for him,” said his son, Jac, a football host on NBC since 2020. “Growing up, he was always up at 6 a.m., watching film until we got home from school or practice. He’d eat dinner, then go right back down.”
Collinsworth has called NFL games in 52 different stadiums, quite a feat in a league with 32 teams (four of whom share venues). He has worked five different Rams home-game sites, for instance: SoFi, the Coliseum, the Edward Jones Dome and Busch Stadium in St. Louis, and Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium).
“I spent 13 years with Cris and loved every moment,” said Al Michaels, who worked 263 games with Collinsworth, topping the list of most-frequent booth partners. “He has humor and understands the game on a level that’s almost unparalleled. There are others who understand it as well, but Cris has the ability to make it very accessible.”
Collinsworth likes to think of that as talking to 98% of the audience as opposed to leaning heavily into the granular shoptalk that might only appeal to football wonks.
“Cris is a broadcaster, not a narrowcaster,” said Rob Hyland, coordinating producer of “Sunday Night Football.” “We’re appealing to more than 20 million people every Sunday night. We’re not speaking to a thousand football coaches. If my mom is interested in what Cris is saying, we’re doing the right thing.”
Cris Collinsworth, left, works with Mike Tirico in the “Sunday Night Football” booth during a game between the Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers at SoFi Stadium on Nov. 9.
(Sam Farmer / Los Angeles Times)
As his guiding principle, Collinsworth thinks of a question his wife, Holly, often poses to him: Why should I care?
“It’s a great line, you know?” he said. “It’s like, all right, I got to give people a reason to care. And if I do, they’ll watch.”
That’s not to say he doesn’t do deep dives on the nuances of the game. He bought a majority interest in Pro Football Focus in 2014, a service that gathers detailed analytics and data to professional and college clients and has become a staple of NBC’s NFL coverage.
“He’s the smartest guy in most every room he’s in, and he never acts like it,” said NBC play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico, who will be working his 96th game with Collinsworth on Sunday. “Law school teaches you critical thinking, and that’s what Cris brings to everything.”
Collinsworth was a year away from retirement from the Bengals when he began law school at the University of Cincinnati. He would finish his studies in 1991, but by that time was two years into his media career, so he never took the bar exam.
He got his start hosting a local sports talk-radio show, which he later would call the hardest job of his life. He had to be knowledgeable on a mile-wide range of teams and topics — or at least be able to fake it.
“Every night is like a fistfight in there, and people think you’re an idiot,” he said. “And there’s no way I know everything I need to know about NBA and NASCAR and football. It’s just a fight for survival, which was a great training ground for what we do.”
Broadcaster Cris Collinsworth acknowledges fans while walking with Mike Tirico on the field hours before the Chargers faced the Pittsburgh Steelers at SoFi Stadium on Nov. 9.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Joe Buck, who worked 56 games alongside him, said that radio experience honed Collinsworth’s ability to be comfortable and conversational on air.
“With Cris, I don’t ever leave a game without knowing why one team won and one team lost,” Buck said. “Seems simple, but that’s not always the case. He can be direct, and that sometimes angers a player, but it’s always well thought out and usually right.”
Collinsworth has successfully walked that line of being candid yet not crass, to always speak his mind even though his opinions often rankles fans of all 32 teams.
“The No. 1 question I’ve gotten for my entire career in every city, including Cincinnati and especially Cincinnati, is, ‘Why do you hate the — fill in the blank with whatever their favorite team is?’” he said with a laugh. “So every once in a while I’ll say, ‘Do you think I hate any other team?’ and it’s, ‘Nope. Just my team. That’s it.’”
Collinsworth lives in Fort Thomas, Ky., just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. He has a wide smile and an easygoing, self-effacing way about him. He chuckles at the memes and impersonations and notion that he’ll never pass an opportunity to compliment Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes. It’s all part of a job that never truly feels like work to him.
“At AT&T stadium, we sit directly across from Jerry Jones’ box,” he said, referring to the Dallas Cowboys owner. “It’s essentially the same box. He paid a lot of money for his seat. We get paid to sit in ours. Anytime I feel sorry for myself, I remember that.”
Often in production meetings leading up to a Sunday night game, Collinsworth will ask a player, “When in your life did you first realize you were different?” It frequently evokes a story or thoughtful answer.
So, on the verge of such a lofty broadcasting milestone, precisely when did Collinsworth first know he was different?
“Hopefully next week,” he said. “Or maybe the next.”
Is there something going on with Kandi Burruss and her husband, Todd Tucker? Some eagle-eyed Real Housewives of Atlanta fans certainly think so. There are multiple pieces of evidence pointing towards some trouble for the long-time couple. It has fans wondering if there’s trouble in paradise, or if this is all just a scheme that Todd set up.
Kandi Burruss fans are playing detective concerning her marriage to Todd Tucker
Photo Credit: Bryan Bedder/Bravo
Bravo fans have had a front-row seat to Kandi and Todd’s relationship. They met when the RHOA cast took a trip to Africa, and Todd was working for the show behind the scenes. Since then, they’ve had babies, built businesses, and put on a united front for their fans. But, as the r/RHOA Reddit thread pointed out, rumors are swirling that something might have gone wrong.
The theories took flight after the celebrity gossip page, Crazy Days and Nights, shared a blind item about a “southeast Housewife” dropping her married name. Upon review, fans found several pieces of evidence pointing toward Kandi.
Exhibit A: Kandi’s Instagram page. One fan pointed out that her Instagram page no longer lists her name as “Kandi Burruss-Tucker.” Now, it just says ”Kandi Burruss.”
Of course, that begged the question of whether or not she ever had Todd’s last name included. Honestly, has anyone ever actually called her Kandi Burruss-Tucker? However, as one fan pointed out that Bravo’s website does list her with her husband’s last name. The plot thickens.
Exhibit B: Todd’s absence from BravoCon 2025. At the event, Kandi was awarded the Wifetime Achievement Award for her excellence and dedication to Housewivery. Of course, it’s not the Tony Award she was hoping for this year, but you’d think her husband of 11 years, whom she met on the show, would be there to support her.
Exhibit C: Kandi’s wedding ring. At BravoCon, Kandi did not wear her wedding ring. One fan on Reddit said they noticed that Todd hadn’t been wearing his either lately.
“Soon as I saw that they both stopped wearing their rings I knew something was wrong. Well if it for the best so be it,” the fan wrote.
Of course, there could be a reasonable explanation for all of this. Maybe she never had his name in her Instagram bio. Perhaps they’re both getting their rings resized right now, and Todd was too busy shooting another one of those wildly successful movies he’s been working on to attend BravoCon. We’re not sure, but we’re keeping our eyes on these two.
Hannah Ann Sluss in a very private and emotional manner is celebrating the anniversary of many family milestones. The model and actress worked with Hallmark during this commemoration and together they chose a collection of Keepsake Ornaments where each one represented a certain event in her family’s life. Sluss in the paid collaboration described the ornaments as signifying everything from a new house purchase to a family favorite hobby, thus turning Christmas decorations into ceaseless expressions of love.
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Although the concept was straightforward it was also profoundly and emotionally touching at the same time. In the post accompanying her video, Hannah Ann Sluss invited the audience to join her in the decision-making process. First she sent to her sister an ornament announcing the new home which was a symbolic gift marking a major life chapter involving moving to another city and getting a new job. She also found a cute cake ornament as a tribute to that ‘sweet beginning’ for the first anniversary of a cousin’s wedding.
Hannah’s father got a matching ornament for his passion of fixing up old cars when he purchased a classic car of his own this year. One of the hardest choices was the one for her mother who every year decorates the whole tree for the family pet, Lucky. Sluss discovered the perfect dog ornament that represents the connection between her mother and the dog. She expressed that the Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments are the perfect way for her family to display these moments on the tree for several years.
The community’s reaction was overwhelmingly positive, and the personalized aspect of the gifts was a major factor that impressed the audience. A user expressed what many thought and wrote, ‘What a great gift! Love all the thought you put into each one.’ This comment suggests that the giver’s effort in selecting a meaningful gift often coincides with the gift being as deep as the gift itself.
A different responder was sharing his own custom and saying: ‘We get a Hallmark ornament every year!’ This is a sign of the Hallmark brand’s dominance in the market and how its products have become an integral part of family traditions during Christmas. An annual ornament is a custom practiced in many households, and thus Sluss’s contemporary adaptation of this tradition is indeed very relatable.
The announcement as well triggered curiosity about the possible enlargement of Sluss’s family. One follower optimistically proposed, ‘ya definitely gotta get a “Baby’s 1st Christmas” ornament for the little one,’ which was an obvious hint to Sluss’s pregnancy. This exchange illustrates how her personal life and promotional content have a spontaneous overlap and how this makes the audience feel they are part of her life.
Someone expressed very nostalgic feelings and remarked, ‘Hallmark was my first job and it was many moons ago,’ pointing out the brand’s long-standing presence in America and its power of evoking personal memories among people of different age groups. Hallmark does not merely create traditional memories but also sells ornaments.
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Hannah Ann Sluss has made an excellent move in promoting her brand by taking a chance that is both well-accepted and truly sincere. By focusing on her family’s actual milestones, she managed to illustrate how the mass-manufactured items could still make a huge personal impact. The campaign now becomes a great example and more than just mere product placement; it’s a how-to-manual on crafting gifts that are not only visually appealing but deeply meaningful as well. Picking a tangible ornament to stand for a moment in time is still a timeless, yet refreshing and honest, way of communicating in a world that is increasingly dominated by fast-moving digital interactions. Pagans state that the most unforgettable gifts are the ones that tell a story, which is why a part of the family’s history can be kept hanging on the Christmas tree branches for many years to come. She also recently shared details about her California love story inspired nursery and includes her dog Dash in many family activities.
In the fall of 2019, my husband sat me down in our Hudson Valley kitchen, which overlooked our old birch. “I think I need to move back to Los Angeles,” he said.
I had just turned 50, and we’d been married for one year. I looked at him as if he’d suggested Mars.
“I know,” he said. “But I don’t think there’s enough work here.”
He had just finished directing a documentary. He wanted to return to the city where he had lived and worked in the industry for 17 years to see if he could drum up old connections for new work.
Was this a test? I remained silent while my mind reeled.
L.A. was never a place in which I imagined myself thriving. I first moved there after college to pursue acting and live with my mogul-wannabe boyfriend. We broke up within a month, and my life became a California cliche: I joined a cult-like spiritual practice with a glamorous Indian guru.
Although I found chanting and meditation to be very healing, after a year the relentless sunshine grated on my depressive nature and I moved back to my hometown of New York City, where I tried to hide my California woo-woo beneath a wardrobe of black.
When I’d return to L.A. to visit, my insecurities lined up like the palm trees on Hollywood Boulevard. After two days, I’d start eyeing my mushy backside with disdain in restaurant windows. My thick, curly hair made me temperature hot, while everyone around me was slim, tanned and sexy hot. I’d replay the time an agent told me to come back after I’d lost 15 pounds and how my troupe of college friends all got industry jobs and appeared to be thriving in the Hollywood ethos that felt so empty to me.
Moving back to L.A. as a middle-aged married woman felt like reconnecting with an ex with whom things ended badly. Had enough time passed that it could work? Or would all of our “issues” with each other return?
Back in my kitchen, my eyes fixated on the birch, its yellow-brown leaves clinging to its large, twisted frame. Its unique beauty drew me to the house that I’d bought years before my husband and I met. The pros and cons of life in our rural town flashed before me: my hard-won friends, the long, frigid winters, the affordability and the reliable rhythms of a seasonal life. I had lived most of my time here as a single person. Now I was a middle-aged part of a pair. Maybe it was time to compromise.
“OK,” I said, surprising myself. “It will be our adventure.”
We decided to give it six months. My writing and consulting work was portable, and there was something right about the idea of my husband and me creating a new life together. Although he is nine years my elder, his infectious, childlike enthusiasm about making dreams come true was rubbing off on me. We just didn’t count on the world shutting down a month after we moved in the winter of 2020.
At first, L.A. was a terrific place for the shutdown, because we could walk each day in the beautiful sunshine, which I no longer minded one bit, to a stunning view of the coast. Our weekly trips to the grocery store included a traffic-free drive up PCH to a less-crowded supermarket, the ocean sparkling on our left. As my East Coast friends complained in Zoom squares about the cold, we got to hike and take lunch breaks on the Malibu cliffs. Soon we noticed Angelenos gathering with their friends in their backyards for cookouts.
Still, it was a pandemic. Even with the daily walks, my body rebelled from so much sitting. My hips froze, and I limped around our small apartment like Al Pacino playing Richard the III. Our dog, raised in a country house, barked like a banshee at every door closing in the apartment complex, driving us and our neighbors insane. Then, my husband’s mother died alone in a nursing home on the other side of the country. Grief hung over our lives like a marine layer obscuring the view of Catalina. I entered menopause, and my new brain fog only added to the haze. Some adventure.
We found new ways to cope. We bought used bikes on Facebook Marketplace and started biking everywhere. One day, as I arrived breathless at the top of a Mar Vista crest, I saw the ocean behind me and the snow-capped mountains in the distance. The view managed to take whatever breath I had left away. Despite the doom, I felt elated.
In late summer, we drove back east to check on our family and house, which had been rented by some city folk. But we no longer fit. The Hudson Valley charm was dampened by the sensation of wading through 95-degree humid soup. The clothes and books in our old garage didn’t feel like ours anymore, and I felt a strange desire to just give them away. The light and rhythms of L.A. had seduced me.
When we returned, things started to fall into place. We got vaccines. We met in the courtyard with neighbors — the ones who didn’t hate our dog. We figured out how to sell our property back east and finance one in L.A. (for our dog). We made great friends with our new neighbors, one of whom is an actor and not in the least bit flaky. And then, at the farmers market, a friendly vendor was talking to another regular about their aches and pains.
“She’s too young to understand,” he interrupted himself to nod at me. “You’ve got years to go before you reach this point.”
I was 54. It appeared the “coastal ex” and I were indeed having a rapprochement.
These days, I notice fuchsia bursts of bougainvillea instead of my mushy backside. But L.A. has also brought disappointment, financial hardship and the necessity to face hard truths. DOGE (or the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency) slashed the budgets of organizations I work with in my consulting business. And because of COVID-19 and changes in the industry, my husband, the one gung ho about moving back, ended up being the one to struggle. He is in the midst of a brave and grueling career pivot.
It is still our adventure. In midlife, with the right partner and the self-acceptance that getting older brings, I no longer feel the city is stacked against me. We hold on to each other in this complex phase of life and in this vibrant, complex town. And when things feel hopeless, we step outside our door and watch the golden light stream through our old California elm.
The author is a writer and leadership consultant with bylines in HuffPost, Oldster, Longreads, Brevity and more. Her debut memoir, “This Incredible Longing: Finding My Self in a Near-Cult Experience,” will be published by Heliotrope Books in February.
L.A. Affairs chronicles the search for romantic love in all its glorious expressions in the L.A. area, and we want to hear your true story. We pay $400 for a published essay. Email LAAffairs@latimes.com. You can find submission guidelines here. You can find past columns here.
If you grew up in Utah, chicken pillows were practically a weeknight tradition. Creamy chicken wrapped in warm crescent dough is the kind of cozy comfort kids love and adults secretly crave.
Why This Utah Classic Still Hits
Nostalgic comfort: Buttery crescent roll dough and creamy chicken filling give you that classic Utah-style coziness in every bite.
Kid-Friendly: Simple flavors and the fun “pillow” shape make this an easy weeknight dinner win picky eaters.
Weeknight Easy: Minimal ingredients, quick prep, and everything bakes in the oven for a simple dinner.
Chicken Pillow Ingredients
Crescent Rolls: Refrigerated dough makes this recipe easy! I also like to use crescent dough sheets. Simply cut the sheet of dough into 8 even squares before putting them together.
Chicken: Canned or rotisserie chicken is a great alternative!
Bread Crumbs: Plain or panko bread crumbs can be used. Add flavor with 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning if you use either of these options!
Milk: Add a splash of milk for a thinner gravy, if preferred.
How to Make Chicken Pillows
This chicken pillows recipe is my go to when I haven’t planned dinner. I keep crescent rolls on hand because this is my girls’ favorite recipe. And, there’s almost always some cooked chicken in the fridge or freezer.
Chicken Pillows
Prep and Chicken Filling: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray 2 sheet pans with non stick cooking spray and set aside. In a mediumsized bowl, add shredded chicken, cream cheese, green onion, and garlic powder.
Combine & Open: Stir chicken mixture well until well combined. Next, open crescent rolls and separate the triangles.
Fill Pillows: Place about 2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the wider end of the crescent roll.
Seal Pillows: Fold the sides of the dough over the chicken mixture, then roll the crescent roll. Pinch the dough around the chicken mixture to fully seal it. Repeat the method until done.
Coat Pillows: Melt butter in a microwaveable bowl for about 40 seconds. Pour Italian bread crumbs on a plate for easy dipping! Dip the top of each chicken pillow in the bowl of melted butter, followed by the Italian bread crumbs.
Bake: Place the coated chicken pillows on the prepared pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken pillows are golden brown.
Chicken Gravy
In a small pan, add cream of chicken soup, milk, and sour cream. Heat and stir over medium heat until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Add more milk if needed to reach the desired thickness. Serve the gravy on the side or pour it over the warm chicken pillows and enjoy!
Alyssa’s Pro Tip
Gravy: These pillows are delicious with or without gravy! Make my easy gravy recipe, or use store bought if you’re short on time!
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray 2 sheet pans with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine 3 cups cooked shredded chicken, 1 (8-ounce) package softened cream cheese, ¼ cup diced green onion, and ½ teaspoon garlic powder. Stir until well combined.
Open 2 (8-ounce) tubes refrigerated crescent rolls and separate the triangles. Place about 2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the wider end of the crescent roll.
Fold the sides of the dough over the chicken mixture and roll up the crescent roll. Pinch the dough around the chicken mixture to fully seal it. Repeat the method with the remaining crescents.
Melt ⅓ cup unsalted butter in a microwaveable bowl for about 40 seconds. Pour ½ cup Italian bread crumbs on a plate for easy dipping! Dip the top of each chicken pillow in the bowl of melted butter, followed by the plate of breadcrumbs.
Place the coated chicken pillows on the prepared pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken pillows are golden brown.
Chicken Gravy
In a small saucepan, add 1 (10.5-ounce) can cream of chicken soup, ½ cup milk, and ¼ cup sour cream. Heat and stir over medium heat until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Add more milk if needed to reach the desired consistency.
Serve the gravy on the side or pour it over the warm chicken pillows and enjoy!
Notes
Storage & Reheating Instructions
Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
Reheating: Microwave for 1 to 2 minutes or until warmed through.
Freezing: Cool cooked chicken pillows completely, then store in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
Reheating from Frozen:
Oven: 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 to 8 minutes.
Air Fryer: 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 5 minutes (best texture).
Wicked: Part One defied gravity when it came out in November 2024, and now that Wicked: For Good is officially out, fans are ecstatic over the final ensemble performances between Ariana Grande (Glinda), Cynthia Erivo(Elphaba) and the rest of their star-studded cast.
Based on the Broadway musical of the same name, the two Wicked movies feature emotional and gravity-defying songs, some led by the two female leads, in addition to eye-popping visual effects. But the story between Glinda and Elphaba is the focus and what made the original stage production a hit.
The film has been highly anticipated, not only for its recognizable cast, but also for its memorable songs and compelling storyline. Fans of the musical know the story is expansive, raising the question: when can viewers expect its second film Wicked: For Good? Keep reading to get all the updates we have so far on the second movie.
When Did Wicked:Part One Come Out?
Wicked premiered in theaters on Friday, November 22, 2024.
Wicked: For Good Release Date
The story of Oz continues with Wicked: For Good, which was released on November 21, 2025.
Wicked: For Good Trailer
Teaser and trailers for Wicked: For Good, have been unveiled by Universal Pictures in the months leading up to its November 2025 premiere.
Why Was Wicked Split Into Two Parts?
The Broadway musical features an act break dividing its story into two parts. To stay true to its theatrical roots, the filmmakers decided to split the adaptation accordingly.
A year before the second movie’s release, director Jon M. Chu spoke to Variety about the decision to split the production into two separate films.
“When I walked in, everyone was already in high-octane mode of debating: Do we need to do this in two movies?” Jon explained. “Other scripts that were trying to fit it into one movie were stripping many songs and changing the story in ways that didn’t quite make logical, emotional sense. You can get away with that on stage, but movie audiences are tougher. As we picked apart every script, I would ask certain questions that opened a lot of discussion. It became inevitable that we had to commit to two movies.”
How Much Did Wicked Cost to Make?
According to Screen Rant, Wicked, directed by Jon M. Chu, had a production budget of $145 million.
