The Prairie Homestead

Homesteading | Self Sufficient Living | Living off the Land

Jill Winger

104 Comments | |    Last Updated: June 30, 2023

Canning Chicken (How to do it Safely)

Canning chicken at home is easier than you think and not only stocks your pantry, but can make on-the-fly meal prep even easier.  Just grab a jar, pop the top, and you're ready to add cooked chicken to your favorite recipes (like tacos, pizza, pasta, and more). Gather your pressure canner and equipment, and follow these tips for end up with jars of delicious chicken for your pantry shelf. Our freezers are currently overflowing ...Continue Reading

19 Comments | |    Last Updated: June 30, 2023

The Ultimate Guide to Canning Safety

This Ultimate Guide to Canning Safety covers important issues for everyone who is home-canning. Learn necessary tips about botulism concerns, which foods can safely be canned, which foods should NOT be canned, dangerous canning methods that should be avoided at all costs, and more. Yep. I'm going there. I know it'll make some people mad. But we need to have a chat about this, my friend. CANNING SAFETY.  I keep running ...Continue Reading

8 Comments | |    Last Updated: March 2, 2020

Vegetables that Grow in the Shade

You can have a successful and plentiful garden even if you have a lot of shade. In this post, I'm sharing my best tips about vegetables that grow in the shade. I'll cover advice on figuring out your garden's sunlight conditions, edible plants that can grow in part-shade or full-shade, the advantages to shade gardens, and what you need to look out for in order to have a happy and healthy vegetable shade garden. As many of you know, ...Continue Reading

81 Comments | |    Last Updated: January 22, 2025

Chocolate Pudding Cake Recipe

This chocolate pudding cake recipe has been a stand-by in my kitchen for nearly 15 years. Mostly because it was the only dessert I knew how to make back in my "Jill hates cooking" days. (If you had told me back then that I'd write a cookbook, I would have firmly said you were ridiculous and insane...) But I digress. This chocolate pudding cake is rustic, sturdy, and no-nonsense. And I haven't shared it with you before mostly ...Continue Reading

11 Comments | |    Last Updated: December 27, 2023

Homemade Salt Dough Ornaments

Long winter nights give me a burst of creative energy. The other seasons are loaded with long, busy days on a homestead. But winter gives our family long evening hours and a little more time on our hands. Time to be creative, as a family. This time of year, that creativity often entails salt dough ornament creations. A salt dough ornament recipe is right up my alley. Not surprisingly, really, I kinda love homemade salt dough ...Continue Reading

5 Comments | |    Last Updated: December 22, 2021

3 Home Dairy Myths That Are Holding You Back

It's kinda like a status symbol. That bowl of ricotta on my counter that I just made myself? It gives me rockstar status y'all. And I know I'm not the only one. For many folks who dream of homesteading, not much would make them feel like they've "arrived" more than successfully creating delicious dairy products at home. I know for me, home dairy completely captured my imagination at the beginning of our homestead journey. Every time ...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