Here are some links for gardening in Montana.

Heirloom Veggies for Western Montana

The Good Seed Co.

Beginners Guide to Gardening in Montana

10 Crops to Grow in NW Montana

Growing Fruit Trees in NW Montana

Gardening Tips – Bozeman Area 

I test all of the recipes on this site before I share them with you.  My search for a good potato bread recipe still haunts me.  I must have tried six different recipes before I found one that I liked. The point is that I test these recipes and not everything that I try makes it into the website.

I had high hopes for this one, but when it came out of the oven I thought it was a failed experiment.  It was drippy and it looked a little weird.  Then I tasted it.  Yum!  So here you are, a cobbler that’s a little messy and looks a bit strange.  However, it’s also very tasty and super easy to make.  It’s also a great way to use up those last couple of slices of bread.

I should also say that this recipe is based on Loaf Bread Apple Pie from A Cake Bakes in Brooklyn.

Easy, Tasty Peach Cobbler

2 15-ounce cans of sliced peaches, drained
2 slices of lightly toasted bread, crusts removed
1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 egg, beaten
1/2 Cup sugar
4 Tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Grease an 8 by 8 baking pan. Add the drained peaches. Sprinkle the cinnamon and nutmeg over the peaches.

Cut each slice of bread into 4 pieces and arrange over the peaches. Combine the egg, sugar and butter.  Pour over the bread slices.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. After cooking let it rest for 5 minutes.

You’ll have to serve this in a bowl because it’s a little drippy. And you know, a bow

Making stuffing is one of the ways that I use up leftover bread.  I’m talking bread heels, those last slices of milk bread or bread that didn’t quite turn out.

You can use any sort of bread in this stuffing recipe.  However, if you have enough leftover raisin bread this stuffing is fantastic.  The apples and the raisins really go well together and give the stuffing a slightly sweet flavor.

I’ll also tell you that this goes really well with pork roast.

Stuffing Recipe

1 Cup hot water
2 Chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 Cup diced onion
1/2 tsp celery seed
1 tsp poultry seasoning
dash ground pepper
1 Apple -cored, chopped, unpeeled
2 Tablespoons butter – melted
3 Cups torn/crumbled bread (or enough to soak up the liquid)

Dissolve the bouillon cubes in the hot water.  Add the rest of the spices.  Combine the water mixture with the rest of the ingredients in a big bowl.  Stir until all the liquid has been dissolved into the bread.

Spray a bread pan or square cooking pan with nonstick cooking spray.   Put the stuffing in the pan and cover with tin foil.  Bake at 350 degrees for forty minutes.

Who says you have to make hamburgers with your hamburger buns.  Give tuna burgers a try!  I consider them a comfort food.

Tuna Burger Recipe

1 – 7 oz can of tuna, drained
¼ Cup minced onion
¼  Cup mayonnaise
½ Cup grated cheddar cheese
1 Cup celery – chopped
salt and pepper to taste
6 hamburger buns

Combine all ingredients except buns to make the filling.  Split the rolls and add the filling.  Wrap each “burger” in foil.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Hamburger buns can be used for things other than hamburgers. For example, how about making Sloppy Joes for lunch or dinner?  Sloppy Joes are really easy to make and you don’t need any special mixes or spices.

Sloppy Joe Recipe

1 lb. ground beef
onion, chopped  – to taste
green pepper, chopped  – to taste
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon mustard – regular, Dijon, whatever you have in the house will be fine
1/2 cup water
6 hamburger buns

Brown the beef, onions and green pepper.  Drain off the extra fat. In a bowl or 2-cup measuring cup mix the ketchup, brown sugar, mustard and water.  Add the liquid to the meat and vegetables.  Stir and heat to a simmer.  Simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

Yum!!

Some people like eating bread heels and others don’t.  At our house, they’re not very popular.  So we put ours in the freezer and when we have enough we make bread pudding.  It’s a wonderful breakfast treat.

Note the raisins in the photo of the bread pudding.  You can add those to the recipe if you like.  However, in this case, I included some leftover raisin bread in the pudding.

Bread Pudding Recipe

8 cups torn/crumbled bread
3 cups milk
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup raisins
¼ cup butter
1 t vanilla
¼ t salt
¼ t nutmeg
3 eggs

1 – Put the milk, sugar, raisins, butter, vanilla, salt and nutmeg in a saucepan. Set the temperature on low and let it slowly warm while you deal with the rest of the preparation. The goal is to have the milk just start to boil (and not burn) by step 4.

2 – Take a small square pan and put tap water in it until you’ve got about an inch of water. Put the water-filled pan on the lower oven rack. Set the oven at 350 degrees. The water and the temperature will create a nice steamy environment for the pudding.

3 – Grease a 2-quart baking or casserole dish. Put the crumbled bread into the baking or casserole dish.

4 – Beat the eggs gently in a medium bowl. Now we turn back to the cooking milk mixture. Ideally, it will be just starting to gently boil. (Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn at the bottom. ) Once you see a few bubbles take it off the heat and add a few tablespoons of the milk mixture into the eggs and stir it around. Then add the egg mixture to the milk.

5 – Pour the milk and eggs over the bread. Gently stir to distribute the raisins and make sure that all the bread gets wet. Open the oven (brace yourself for the steam) and put the pudding on the upper rack. Cook for one hour.

When you serve you can top this with honey, jam or cream.

Another blog I read recently had a debate about sandwiches.  Is packing a few sandwiches a valid way to save money on a road trip or is it torture disguised as frugality?  Maybe it depends on who’s making the sandwiches.  The Man of the House is known to our immediate circle of friends and family as the king of all sandwich makers.  Here’s a recipe for his secret sauce.

Sandwich Sauce

1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup mayo
1 Tablespoon dried onion
1 teaspoon dried garlic
1/4  teaspoon horseradish
1/4 teaspoon Sambal (or other hot sauce)

Mix this all together and use on sandwiches.

The Man of the House says to feel free to change the proportions around to suit your own taste. You can also use fresh minced garlic, fresh diced onion or chopped red peppers.

You should also make the sauce a little bit ahead of time so that the dried onions have time to hydrate.

The post Sandwich Sauce first appeared on beetleeyes.com.]]> https://beetleeyes.com/2020/07/16/grandmas-bread-recipe/ Thu, 16 Jul 2020 01:16:49 +0000 https://www.projectpeapod.com/?p=25 Mother’s Day is coming up and that has me thinking about family.  I have a bread recipe of my Grandmother’s sent to me by my Aunt Linda.  I thought this would be a good time to share it with you. … Continue reading →

Mother’s Day is coming up and that has me thinking about family.  I have a bread recipe of my Grandmother’s sent to me by my Aunt Linda.  I thought this would be a good time to share it with you.

Keep in mind, this is NOT a bread machine recipe.  Grandma had to knead the dough, let it rise, punch it down, let it rise again and then bake it in the oven.  I think she would have really appreciated having a bread machine!

As a woman with a husband and five children to feed, Grandma didn’t mess around. If she was going to make bread, she was really going to make bread. This recipe makes about 4 loaves.

Grandma’s Bread Recipe

2 packages or 2 tbsp. yeast
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. lard (shortening)
4 1/2 cups water (2 boiling)
12 cups flour

Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of lukewarm water and set aside until yeast foams up.

Put sugar, salt, and shortening in a large bowl and add 2 cups boiling water.  Stir until sugar, salt and shortening dissolve.  Add 2 cups cold water and let stand until lukewarm.

Add foamed-up yeast and stir well.  Add flour.  Knead dough.  Put in a bowl and let rise to double size about 1 1/2 hours.  Punch down and let rise again about 45 mins.

Shape into loaves and put in bread pans. Let rise for about 1 hour.

Bake at 350 degrees 45 mins to 1 hour.

The post Grandma’s Bread Recipe first appeared on beetleeyes.com.]]>

Serves 3 to 4

1 large green onion, thinly sliced

1/2 tightly packed tablespoon curly parsley leaves, chopped

1/2 tightly packed tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

6 large eggs

2 tablespoons heavy cream

3 ounces cream cheese, cut into about 3/4-inch pieces

Salt and pepper as needed

2 tablespoons butter

1. In a medium bowl, use a fork to loosely combine the eggs and cream. Stir in cream cheese, onions and the herbs.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

2. In a large, heavy, non-stick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the eggs and stir with a spatula for a few seconds.

3. Lower heat to medium-low and keep stirring in a slow steady movement for 3 minutes, or until large curds form. Eggs can be served almost wet (moist yet approaching firm) or quite firm.  Be sure not to overcook.

This is one of my favorite salads.  As I was growing up, Mom would make this for gatherings with the extended family.

Mom’s Shrimp Salad

1 pound frozen precooked shrimp – thawed and cut in half
1 – 1/2 cups seashell pasta – cooked and drained
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
2 Tablespoons minced onion
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
3 Tablespoons vinegar
3/4 teaspoon salt
dash of hot pepper sauce

Mix the last 5 ingredients together to form a salad dressing.  Put everything else in a salad bowl.  Then pour the dressing into the bowl and mix well.

Make this salad the night before you serve it so that the flavors can blend.  Stir one more before serving.