Have you ever had one of those days where it feels like all of your worlds collide?

I had one this past Monday. I was picking up lunch with my dad when I ran into both the mom of one of my dearest childhood friends and one of my former eighth-grade students – now a mother herself.

Later, I went to the tire shop and sat down next to a young woman who looked so much like a classmate of mine that I finally asked her whether her mom had graduated from Starkville High School in the late nineties. She had, as it turns out, and she was exactly the woman I thought she was.

Did I mention that the woman at the tire shop also had a toddler?

That means that someone who graduated the year after I did is now a grandmother.

I was shocked, I tell you. Shocked!

Why, I myself could not possibly be old enough to be a grandmother!

After all, grandmothers do things like can tomatoes and talk to random children in stores and ask younger people to explain technology to them. Grandmothers still ask to pay with a check and act surprised when the clothing they wore last Tuesday is now considered “vintage.”

And as I considered all this evidence inside my head, I realized that based on my list, I not only could be a grandmother, but I might actually already be a grandmother.

I collect aprons. I read real books that are made out of paper. I bake cookies when I’m upset, which is also why I have an enviable collection of stretchy pants.

The only thing I’m really missing is a purse full of Werther’s or those goo-filled strawberry hard candies for handing out to children at church. And let’s be real: I frequent the drugstore often enough that I could make that happen in less than 30 minutes without even planning it.

So I decided I might as well embrace it. What’s the advantage of being only grandma-esque when I could be grandma-extra?

To that end, I figured I’d share with you today a recipe that calls for chicken still on the bone.

Now, I’ll admit I’m not a Real Grandma. I’m not one of those pioneer-type women who raises hens for eggs and then slings the old ones around by the neck to make a nice dinner one fine afternoon.

No. I’ll probably never be that Real. I buy my chicken in pieces at the grocery store.

Truth be told, I buy my eggs in cartons at the grocery store, too. (I know, I know. Consider me hanging my head in shame.)

However, this recipe is pretty old-school, even though I learned about it from YouTube. The YouTuber I learned it from, Frugal Fit Mom, got it from her grandfather. I think that’s why she dubbed it Chicken Roger, which she pronounces Raj-aye.

I had low expectations for it before I made it but absolutely loved its low prep time. I figured it would fill our bellies even if it wasn’t a keeper, but the fact that everyone in the family ate it without complaint and Zack went back for seconds meant that it is going into the regular rotation.

It was even worth going into the grocery store a second time because I forgot the cream soup on the first trip. Should have picked up a bag of hard candy for my purse while I was there, I guess.

CHICKEN ROGER

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked rice
1 onion, diced
2-3 pounds bone-in dark meat chicken pieces (I used legs)
2 1/3 cups water
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon (granulated or Better Than Bouillon)
1-2 teaspoons cajun seasoning (I used Tony Chachere’s)
Directions
■ Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
■ Grease a large casserole dish; mine was about a 10-by-15-inches, but I would have used a larger one if I had one. Pour uncooked rice into the bottom of the casserole. Add diced onion to the rice. (Note: I diced mine medium, and while the result was delicious, the onion was crunchy in places. Next time I’ll use a fine dice.) Place chicken in an even layer over the rice and onion.
■ In a mixing bowl or very large measuring cup, measure water. Add condensed soup and chicken bouillon to the water. Mix to incorporate. Pour mixture carefully over the chicken. The dish will be extremely soupy; this extra liquid is necessary to cook the rice as the chicken cooks. Sprinkle cajun seasoning liberally over the dish. (Bear in mind that cajun seasoning is salty but isn’t terribly spicy; I used closer to 2 teaspoons and even my spice-averse kids were OK with it.)
■ Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. (In my oven, the chicken was fully cooked after an hour but the rice was a little underdone; next time, I will probably add the additional 15 minutes.)

Amelia Plair is a mom and high school teacher in Starkville. Email reaches her at [email protected].

Amelia Plair is a Starkville resident who writes occasional food columns.