Mississippi Gorilla and Arkansas Chicken

Sounds like some kind of bizarre joke, but it's actually a couple of good recipes I've tried recently. The gorilla comes from the Sweet Potato Queens' Big Ass Cookbook (and Financial Planner), which is an absolute stitch and has a bunch of good recipes. If you have not yet encountered Jill Conner Browne's world, get thee to a bookstore right away & pick up her books! This is my adaptation of Precious Darling George's Gorilla Casserole:

1 lb. extra-lean ground beef
1 tbsp. oil
1 chopped onion
1 sliced stalk celery
1/2 package grated carrots
28 oz. canned Italian-style tomatoes
1 generous pinch each salt, oregano, basil and Italian seasoning
1 good grinding of pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
3/4 lb. macaroni, cooked
5 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
A couple handsful of shredded extra-sharp cheddar

Cook beef, onion, celery & carrots in oil until beef is thoroughly browned. Add tomatoes & seasonings. Let simmer half an hour. Mix spinach with macaroni. Add to meat mixture. Put in a greased 13x9 baking dish. Top with cheese and bake 1/2 hour at 350 degrees.

The chicken comes from stellar children's book & cookbook author and innkeeper Crescent Dragonwagon's Dairy Hollow House Cookbook. She has other great cookbooks, such as The Dairy Hollow House Soup and Bread Book and The Passionate Vegetarian. The recipes are wonderful, but the storytelling is even better. These are cookbooks you will want to sit down and read. Get them! Dairy Hollow House is an inn in Eureka Springs, Arkansas & I am dying to stay there. In the meantime, I will console myself with the books & cooking things like Chicken Nouveau'zarks, of which this is my adaptation:

7 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 large lemon
Plenty of fresh pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. olive oil
2/3 c. dry white wine
1/2 c. chicken broth
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 bunch scallions, sliced
A generous handful of sliced baby portabellas
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. thyme
Salt to taste

Mix 2 of the garlic cloves with the lemon juice & pepper. Toss into a large ziploc bag with the chicken & marinate at least 1 hour, turning every so often. Ina large skillet, heat butter & oil. Brown the chicken on both sides. Mix rest of ingredients together, stirring until smooth. Cover & simmer about 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and tender. Remove the chicken and keep it warm. Remove the bay leaf and mash the garlic into the cooking liquid. Raise the heat and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring often, until reduced and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. I served this with egg noodles, a big salad and Italian bread. It was wonderful!