Chicken, Rice, and Vegetable Skillet

The week after the stove incident, and everything has shifted. Not externally — the house is the same, the routine continues, the library system runs — but internally, the ground has moved. I am now a woman who is planning for her mother's decline, and the planning requires a different kind of energy than I have been using: not the creative energy of the recipe cards or the administrative energy of the library, but the practical, hard-edged energy of logistics. How many bedrooms do we need? Can Joy share a room with Mama? What accommodations does Joy require? What will the caregiver situation look like? How will Robert feel about his mother-in-law and his wife's brain-injured sister living in his family's house?

Robert answered the last question before I asked it. On Monday evening he said, "The guest room is Carolyn's. Joy can have the third floor bedroom. I'll build shelves for Joy's things this weekend." The matter-of-factness of his response — no hesitation, no negotiation, no conditions — was the most generous thing Robert has done since the affair. Possibly more generous than anything he did before the affair, because before the affair, generosity was a performance. Now it is a practice.

James starts his senior year tomorrow. He stood in the kitchen tonight in his new shoes — a half size larger than last year's — and said, "Last first day." I said, "Last first day of high school. There will be other first days." He said, "I know. But this one feels different." I said, "They all feel different. That's why they're called first days."

Carrie starts her sophomore year with the confidence of a girl who spent her summer reading Japanese literature and writing critical essays, which is the kind of summer that builds intellectual muscle the way sports builds physical muscle, and Carrie's intellectual muscles are formidable.

I made Mama's fried chicken for the back-to-school dinner — the same ritual, the same brine, the same cast-iron skillet, the same ceremony. But this year the ceremony carried an additional weight: the knowledge that next year, Mama might be in this kitchen to help make it. The thought was both comforting and terrifying, because Mama in my kitchen means Mama out of hers, and the leaving of one kitchen for another is not a move but a surrender, and Carolyn Simmons has never surrendered anything in her life.

The fried chicken was the ceremony, but the truth of a back-to-school dinner is that you need something that feeds everyone completely—protein, grain, vegetables, all of it—without turning the kitchen into a production. This chicken, rice, and vegetable skillet is what I make when the cast iron needs to do the heavy lifting and I need to be present at the table instead of standing at the stove. One pan, one burner, one prayer that senior year treats James as gently as he deserves.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup diced bell pepper (any color)
1 cup diced zucchini
1 cup frozen peas
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Lemon wedges, for serving

Instructions

Season the chicken. Pat the chicken pieces dry and season generously with smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Toss to coat evenly.
Brown the chicken. Heat olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the seasoned chicken in a single layer and cook without stirring for 3–4 minutes until golden on the bottom. Stir and cook another 2–3 minutes until browned on all sides. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
Build the base. Reduce heat to medium. Add butter to the skillet. Once melted, add the diced onion and cook for 3–4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
Toast the rice. Add the rinsed rice to the skillet and stir to coat in the butter and onion mixture. Toast for 1–2 minutes, stirring frequently, until the rice smells nutty.
Add the broth. Pour in the chicken broth and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Bring to a boil.
Layer and simmer. Scatter the bell pepper and zucchini over the rice. Nestle the browned chicken pieces on top. Do not stir. Reduce heat to low, cover tightly with a lid or foil, and cook for 20 minutes without lifting the lid.
Add the peas. Remove the lid, scatter the frozen peas over the top, and gently fluff the rice with a fork, folding everything together. Cover again and let rest off the heat for 5 minutes.
Serve. Taste and adjust seasoning. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and serve with lemon wedges on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chicken, Rice, and Vegetable Skillet — A Cast-Iron Ceremony for the Last First Day