Not traditional paella, of course. But, rather, a chicken and saffron rice dish in the manner of a paella. This version is made in a cast iron skillet, cooked partially on the stove top and finished in the oven. It can be cooked on the stove top to completion, or as when on the road, in an electric frying pan. You can even make it in your paella pan.

Quite easy to make, it only required a bit of marinade time the previous day, a few moments to prepare the ingredients, and then a few minutes to monitor the cooking. It makes a large family main dish or a meal with left-overs for fewer people; quick to reheat when traveling.

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Lemon juice, lime juice, white pepper marinade
• 1 green Bell pepper
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• ¾ cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 lemon

• 1 pound prepared saffron rice mix
• 1 red Bell pepper
• 1 red onion
• 1 14 ½-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 14-ounce cans chicken broth plus water to make 4 1/2 cups
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• small bunch fresh parsley

1. Night before, place chicken breasts in a medium bowl and add ¼ cup each of lemon and lime juice. Sprinkle liberally with ground white pepper. Cover with plastic wrap. Turn chicken pieces several times during the marinade. Drain and discard marinade. Grill chicken until an internal temperature of 170, about 10 minutes on an electric grill. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool. Slice into thin strips and then crossways to make bite-sized pieces. Cover and set aside.

   

2. Slice onion into thin rounds. Cut across rounds to make quarters. Set aside.
3. Cut tops and bottoms off peppers. Remove stem and seeds. Dice tops and bottoms. Slice through peppers and lay flat. Cut into small strips. Set aside.
4. Chop parsley to make two tablespoons. Save remaining sprigs for garnish. Set aside.
5. Cut top and bottom off lemon to squeeze later. Cut center of lemon into thin rounds. Cut across rounds to make half-round slices. Set aside.

   

6. You will need a 12-inch cast iron skillet with a lid. Preheat oven to 375. Place skillet lid in the oven to preheat. Heat the skillet on the stove top to medium high heat. Add olive oil. When oil is hot add onions, peppers. 1 tablespoon of the chopped parsley and mushrooms. Salt and pepper to taste. Sweat the vegetables, stirring frequently, until almost soft. Add the minced garlic and thawed peas and carrots. Cook until peas and carrots are heated through. Remove the vegetables to a bowl. Separate about a dozen of the red and green pepper strips. Set aside. Cover all to keep warm.
7. To the still hot skillet add the broth and water. Bring to a boil. Add the packaged saffron rice and seasoning. Continue stirring until it returns to a boil. Stir an additional 1 minute. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover with the preheated lid from the oven. Simmer for 10 minutes.

   

8. After 10 minutes, remove lid and add the reserved vegetables and reserved chicken pieces. Stir to mix well. Level the mixture. Squeeze juice from reserved lemon top and bottom over the rice mixture. Arrange the reserve pepper strips in a decorative manner. Recover with the lid. Place in the preheated oven and cook for an additional 20 minutes (that will finish cooking the rice and vegetables just nicely. If you want the traditional paella bottom crust, the socarrat, cook an additional 10 minutes).
9. Remove from oven. Arrange lemon slices on top. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley. Serve with a lemon slice with each portion. Garnish with a sprig of parsley.