The Prairie Homestead

Homesteading | Self Sufficient Living | Living off the Land

Jill Winger

Leave a Comment | |    Last Updated: November 10, 2026

The Best Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I have a lot of controversial opinions about mashed potatoes. #1. Instant mashed potato flakes are from the pits of hell. #2. Gravy is fine, but mashed potatoes should be able to stand on their own without it. #3. You salt them in the pot, NOT AT THE TABLE. If someone has to salt my potatoes, I have failed. #4. Figure out how many pounds of potatoes you think you'll need and double it. Ok, maybe not that last one. My Soda ...Continue Reading

Leave a Comment | |    Last Updated: November 4, 2026

How I Plan My Week When Life Doesn’t Go According to Plan

This Saturday I found myself standing in several inches of liquid beef tallow. The fryer had overflowed at the Soda Fountain. There were five order tickets on the pass waiting to be filled. And there I was, wielding a squeegee, attempting to guide the wave of oil into a more appropriate location, whilst trying not to break my neck on the slippery floor and keeping the kitchen limping along. Needless to say, this was not on my ...Continue Reading

2 Comments | |    Last Updated: October 21, 2026

How I’m Sheet Mulching My Dust Bowl Yard (On a Budget)

You know your soil is bad when even the weeds don't want to grow in it. Welcome to my new front yard. If I was going for Dust Bowl vibes, I'd be nailing it. It's dusty. It's sandy. It's barren. And when the wind blows (which it always does), half the dirt ends up inside my house. But I've got a plan, and it involves a mountain of cardboard and wood chips. I've gardened for nearly two decades, and while I've been aware ...Continue Reading

Leave a Comment | |    Last Updated: October 6, 2026

Well, We Made It

Today, after two years of writing, testing, revising, photographing, editing, second-guessing, and wondering if this thing in my brain would ever be “real”… …the Old-Fashioned on Purpose Cookbook is officially out in the world. And in very on-brand fashion, I’m not on a glamorous book tour today. Rather, I’m doctoring a horse, running to grab wood so I can finish my bedroom makeover, ordering a (literal) dump-truck load of ...Continue Reading

Leave a Comment | |    Last Updated: November 10, 2026

You’re Allowed to Change Your Mind About Homesteading

I've been homesteading for almost 20 years. And I've changed my mind about a LOT of things. When I first started this whole homesteading adventure back in 2008, I had some pretty strong opinions about what the lifestyle should look like. Grow your own food. Make everything from scratch. Preserve as much as possible. Learn ALL the skills. Do it yourself whenever possible. And I went all in. I milked cows, raised animals, ...Continue Reading

Leave a Comment | |    Last Updated: October 3, 2026

I Hope You Ruin This Book

Why falling-apart cookbooks make me happiest. When my first cookbook came out, I wrote in the introduction that I wanted people to ruin it. I wished for flour in their bindings. Dog-eared pages splattered with gravy. Scribbles in the margins. Bent corners. A cracked spine from being opened to the same recipe 75 times. My biggest fear was writing a beautiful cookbook that lived untouched on a shelf. Thankfully, my fear never ...Continue Reading

Nice to Meet You

I’m Jill. I’ve never been very good at following prescribed paths.

For the last 15 years, that instinct has led me through homesteading, entrepreneurship, and creating a life my younger self could have only dreamed of.

These days, I’m less interested in living the perfect "old-fashioned life" and more interested in knowing which ideas are worth carrying forward. The first half of this story was about building a homestead. The next part is about building a life that actually fits.
Read My Story