The Prairie Homestead

Homesteading | Self Sufficient Living | Living off the Land

Jill Winger

1 Comment | |    Last Updated: June 30, 2023

Homemade Strawberry Rhubarb Jam Recipe

  I couldn't grow a fruit tree if my life depended on it. But I CAN grow a mean crop of rhubarb... so at least I have that going for me. Ok, fine.... rhubarb isn't technically a fruit (yes, it's a vegetable...), but we basically treat it like a fruit when we smother it in sugar and bake it into pies and tarts. Or make strawberry rhubarb jam. While I’m a big fan of freezing fruits and other foods to use later on in ...Continue Reading

7 Comments | |    Last Updated: September 9, 2025

Old-Fashioned Sourdough Gingerbread Cake Recipe

The wind is blowing mach 9 and the snow drifts have formed mini-mountains on my deck... Welcome to winter in Wyoming.  People ask how we survive our brutal winters here, and honestly, I've just learned how to be content with lots of indoor projects over the years.  I used to fight the long, dark winter nights, but now I sink into them. We read, we play games, we create, and we bake. And this simple, old-fashioned ...Continue Reading

Leave a Comment | |    Last Updated: June 13, 2023

How Our Homestead Family is Preparing for a Lockdown

It looks like more shutdowns are coming, so we are getting prepared. Even if you are super isolated like we are here in Wyoming, grocery stores get out of stock, shipping times get delayed, and we were caught a bit off-guard this spring for the first lockdown, and I'm not going to let that happen again. So I'm going to show you exactly what we've been doing slowly and methodically over the summer and fall to get prepared. Honestly, ...Continue Reading

Leave a Comment | |    Last Updated: October 14, 2025

Homemade Applesauce Recipe (with Canning Instructions)

    Autumn is officially here. We've gotten our freak first blizzard out of the way, and now the temps are going from blazing hot to ice cold, sometimes within 48 hours. I'm preserving things like a crazy lady to prepare for the colder months ahead. I've recently been canning: dill relish, honey currant jam, tomato sauce, and so much more. Now I'm staring at baskets of apples, so it's time to get to work on ...Continue Reading

51 Comments | |    Last Updated: January 30, 2024

How to Can Tomato Sauce (My Favorite All-Purpose Version)

I've shied away from posting a canned tomato sauce recipe forever. Not because it's hard... Not because I don't make tomato sauce... Not because I don't have tomatoes... Mostly just because I've just been too lazy to write down my ingredients any time I make a batch. So there you have it. Now that's off my chest, I feel better. Anyway. Of all the things I can (like peaches with honey and cinnamon, canned apple ...Continue Reading

21 Comments | |    Last Updated: June 30, 2023

How to Can with a Water Bath Canner

I got my first water bath canner at a garage sale for $1. You would have thought I'd won the lottery. I left that garage sale feeling giddy... I kept wanting to look back over my shoulder because I was certain they'd realize I'd just made off with the deal of the century. I was a newbie homesteader back then, but I was on the cusp of adding canning to my homestead skill repertoire and knew that it was going to be something that ...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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