The Prairie Homestead

Homesteading | Self Sufficient Living | Living off the Land

Jill Winger

120 Comments | |    Last Updated: June 13, 2023

Easy Shortening-Free Pie Crust

I guess you could say that I'm a bit of a pie crust snob. I love a tender, flaky crust that is just barely brown on the edges, never burnt or crispy. And don't even try to convince me that those pathetic, pre-made, refrigerated or frozen crusts will do. No way! Every homesteader-chef needs to have a couple tried-and-true pie recipes in their arsenal. The methodology of a good pie crust is very similar to that of a good biscuit ...Continue Reading

117 Comments | |    Last Updated: March 17, 2018

Why I Don’t Clip Coupons

(Photo Source) Back when I started the transition from a workin' girl to a stay at home mama, I spent a considerable amount of time online checking out various homemaking blogs. A common theme I found among them was that many of the moms were coupon queens. They would spend mere pennies and come home with bagfuls of food and toiletries. Oftentimes, the items would end up being completely free! This totally appealed to my frugal ...Continue Reading

130 Comments | |    Last Updated: March 17, 2018

A (Frugal) Cheesecloth Alternative

It's funny to think that merely 2 years ago, I didn't even know what cheesecloth was, let alone have a need for it. However, now that my kitchen has been transformed into a real food workshop, I find myself needing all sorts of "weird" items. Cheesecloth has many uses. Most commonly it's used in various forms of cheesemaking (duh), but it also works great as a strainer for broth, jellies, or soft cheeses like yogurt or kefir ...Continue Reading

99 Comments | |    Last Updated: April 10, 2019

BEST Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe

It took me an eternity... ...To to find a pizza crust recipe we really liked. So many of the other pizza dough recipes I tried were too dry, or too crumbly, or lacked that perfect chewiness we craved. I'm pretty sure angels sang when I made this dough recipe for the first time. It's so perfect we don't even miss restaurant pizza anymore, (which is a good thing when you live 40 miles from town...)  I make pizza dough recipe with a ...Continue Reading

20 Comments | |    Last Updated: February 9, 2020

Free Printable: Milk Record Sheet

Ok, ok, I know that some of you may be getting tired of talking about milking and dairy animals. I promise, we'll get back to our regularly scheduled programming soon. BUT, since we just started up our goat milking again for the year I seriously have raw milk on the brain! So, bear with me just a little while longer. ;) Today, I'm excited to share a free printable milk record sheet that hopefully will help to organize things around ...Continue Reading

8 Comments | |    Last Updated: November 17, 2016

Frost Seed Your Homestead

  We don't really have a lawn. It's more of a lumpy patch of clumpy prairie grass that I faithfully push the mower over every summer. We've definitely improved it by mowing and raking out the dead matter, but it's a far cry from the lush, green carpets that you see in town. Not that I really care, because even if I did have a lush, green carpet, the dogs would dig it up, the goats would eat it, and my lack of willingness to ...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.
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