The Prairie Homestead

Homesteading | Self Sufficient Living | Living off the Land

Jill Winger

16 Comments | |    Last Updated: June 13, 2023

Herb Steak Rub Recipe

(Photo Credit)  We are strange people. When an anniversary or celebration rolls around, we usually prefer to eat at home. The rest of the world celebrates by going out for supper, but my husband and I relish the nights where we grill up some steaks, make crispy, salty baked potatoes with homemade rolls, and have our own version of a steakhouse feast by candlelight. And whenever we eat steak at our house, ...Continue Reading

36 Comments | |    Last Updated: January 2, 2023

Goat 101: Milking Equipment

So you bite the bullet and now are the proud owner of a couple of dairy goats. Where do you go now? How do you safely get milk from the udder to the refrigerator while keeping it tasting fresh? To be honest, when we started our milking journey, I was pretty nervous about this part. I wanted to make sure I did everything absolutely by the book and didn't mess up. Unfortunately, there are a lot of different "books" out there ...Continue Reading

24 Comments | |    Last Updated: August 5, 2025

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

This is the ultimate fall indulgence! I adore cooking with pumpkin and we usually have completely gorged ourselves on everything 'pumpkin' by the time Christmas rolls around (pumpkin cream puffs anyone?). This smoothie was a new idea for this year- we will definitely be having it on a regular basis until we use up all of our garden pumpkins! By the way, if you have a bounty of pumpkins coming from your garden, you might want ...Continue Reading

82 Comments | |    Last Updated: March 11, 2019

Frugal Homemade Carpet Cleaner

Dogs and carpet don't mix. In fact, country living and carpet don't mix either... Unfortunately for me, when we purchased our house, it had brand-new, white Berber carpet. Me, being the frugal person that I am, wouldn't dream of ripping out brand new carpet... So, here we are. Our dogs have a knack of finding and eating the nastiest things. I would bet we are pushing a world record on how many times I have cleaned up various ...Continue Reading

24 Comments | |    Last Updated: April 18, 2016

It All Started with a Compost Pile….

Really. It did. Back in 2008 when we purchased our homestead, we had no intentions of growing as many vegetables as possible, milking goats, or attempting to raise free-range eggs. Heck, at that point, we were still eating Cool Whip and "Pasteurized Processed Cheese Product".... We were just thrilled to find this reasonably priced old farmhouse. It had plenty of outbuildings and 67 acres for our horses to graze. But then the ...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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