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Pressing On, My New Favorite Blog

My new, favorite blog is Pressing On. The funny thing is, it is written by a 17 year old girl that Josiah met through the Curles' Girls. They get together to play (music, not Legos or airsoft) when we are in San Diego. Lyssa is a talented musician, an engaging writer and wise way beyond her years. I am encouraged by her insight. You will be too. Check it out and subscribe... and be blessed by a young woman dedicated to Christ, using her gifts to direct the rest of us to Him and His truths.

Soup Bones and Shanks

I know that this is not a really exciting post for most of you after much silence on the blog, BUT, some of our bison customers will be happy. I often have requests for ideas to use soup bones and shanks. These cuts are an excellent source of nutrients because of the marrow in the bones. Not only that, but they make the best soup stock/broth that you have ever tasted. I have a double use for my shanks and soup bones. First I make soup stock, then I use the meat for enchiladas. Both are super easy. Here is how I do it:

Bison Stock
2 packs soup bones/shanks
Water to cover
Seasonings….whatever you like

Place unwrapped, frozen shanks or soup bones in crock pot (mine is 6 quarts). Cover with water. Add salt, pepper, and any seasonings you like (I use real salt, garlic powder, Montreal steak seasoning, pepper). Cook on low for 10 – 24 hours (if you cook them for the longer period of time, you will need to add additional water). Turn off crock pot and let cool for an hour or so. Pull out the pieces of bone and meat and place in a large bowl. Strain broth through fine mesh cheese cloth (the only place I can find it is at Bed, Bath and Beyond). Store broth in freezer containers and label. Pick the meat from the bones and set aside for enchiladas. Here’s the way I do it.


Easy Bison Enchiladas
Tortillas (corn or flour)
Enchilada sauce
Shredded Cheese
Meat from your shanks/soup bones

Pour enchilada sauce over bottom of pan (9x13). Fill tortillas with meat and roll them up. Set in pan. Once the pan is full, pour sauce over the enchiladas – I use a lot – and then sprinkle (or totally cover) with shredded cheese of your choice. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

I make this for our monthly church potluck - super easy, makes a bunch and gets rave reviews….they disappear immediately.

Our Summer Swimming Hole

Last summer, a great public swimming area opened in Lakeside. Although Flathead Lake is HUGE there is very little public swimming access. This place is beautiful with a gazebo, bathrooms, a grassy area and plenty of parking. We just went down to hang out the other night. "They" let the water in Flathead Lake out through the Hungry Horse Dam in the winter, and then they let it back in a little at a time during the spring. The level is just now starting to go up. Can't wait til we can swim in it this summer. The docks and large rocks in the water make it a super fun place to swim. Last year, since it was new, we don't think a lot of people knew about it and it was never very crowded. We expect this summer to be a different story.

The Dunham Fun Bus

And a bus it is!! We have had car issues all winter.....the Expedition is still doing great, but the truck (AKA The Black Beast) is not. It is a no-wheel-drive that has no business on the road anytime even resembling winter . And we haven't even discussed cosmetic issues - the poor guy has been through a lot and is missing all his teeth! See??


He is a great beater ranch truck, though, and unfortunatley, gets the best gas mileage of any vehicle we have. Brad has had to drive the Expedition while working this winter and so I have had to go out in the truck a number of times. I have been stuck twice and even had to call USAA to pull me out. I was not even a block away from home that time (if we had blocks out here by us). I was taking the neighbor's driveway because ours is way too steep and there was NO WAY I was getting up on account of the ice. I had visions of trying to drive up the driveway and sliding back down - backwards - into a big logging truck...not pretty. Even our neighbor's drive was too snowy for The Beast and about halfway up, he stopped going and the tires started spinning. I tried to go backward and landed my behind in a snow drift. The guy that came to pull me out had a good laugh at my predicament. HE would never have gotten in that situation ( I am pretty sure he's right - McGyver would never have ended up that way either) and he probably figured I was blond underneath all this dark hair. It's okay, I can laugh at myself...it didn't help that my then 14 year old son was laughing too.


And the Suburban has looked like this since the weather got bad. It needs a front end something-or-other and won't get that until the weather gets nice. Even then, the engine needs an overhaul. It will be a while until McGyver gets to that project.

So, as you can see, the situation was bleak....a wife that can't drive worth a darn in the snow, one non-working car and another that couldn't drive in the snow even if the wifey could. Brad has been sort of looking for a diesel truck so that we could haul a trailer of bison. However, a truck won't fit us all, so we would still have to drive two vehicles to CA when we deliver. Brad went in to talk to the diesel guy in town about engines/trucks, etc. The guy asked if we'd ever thought about a diesel Excursion. We had, but they are hard to come by and expensive. It just so happened that he was selling his personal vehicle that had been meticulously maintained. It has low mileage and the price was good. So, we are now the owners of one 2002, Ford diesel bison hauling Excursion with a 7.3L engine (somehow that was a good thing). The thing is indeed a bus and, compared to the Expedition, it has so much room we don't know what to do with ourselves....I am sure that real quickly, the kids will figure out how to drag everything they own into it when we go out. That is just their way.

Ah, Spring!!!

Last week, this is what we woke up to....you gotta love spring in Montana.