The Prairie Homestead

Homesteading | Self Sufficient Living | Living off the Land

Jill Winger

146 Comments | |    Last Updated: October 17, 2019

Tallow Soap Recipe

It's amazing all the things you can do with a big blob of beef fat. Once you render it into tallow, soap, candles, and the best french fries you've ever put in your mouth all become very real possibilities. It's really quite magical. I've been threatening to share a tallow soap recipe for a while now, and the day has finally arrived, my friends. Why Make Tallow Soap? Tallow has had a bad reputation for years, which is rather ...Continue Reading

20 Comments | |    Last Updated: June 13, 2023

Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken

Kelly from The Nourishing Home is brilliant when it comes to beautiful, nourishing food, so I am thrilled to be welcoming her to The Prairie Homestead today as she shares her mouth-watering recipe for rotisserie-style chicken you can make in your crockpot! Hi, this is Kelly from The Nourishing Home. It’s a joy to visit with y’all today and share a simple and delicious slow cooker meal your whole family will love! And the best part is ...Continue Reading

22 Comments | |    Last Updated: December 27, 2023

Wrapping Up 2015

2015 was not an easy year. Notice I didn't say bad year, as something being difficult doesn't automatically make it "bad." However, 2015 definitely gave us a run for our money, in more ways than one. As the year draws to a close, I, like most people, can't help but spend some time reflecting on the challenges our family has had as homesteaders, and well, just humans, these past 365 days... The Things We Learned in 2015 Ever since ...Continue Reading

8 Comments | |    Last Updated: March 24, 2026

Cumin Spiced Pork Tacos Recipe

It's a blessing and a curse... Ok, so maybe "curse" is a strong word, but when you raise your own animals for meat, you have to get really creative, really fast about cooking meat. LOTS of meat. Because after about the tenth roast tasting exactly the same, the family tends to get a little whiney about supper. We have two freezers down in our barn jam-packed full of homegrown pork and beef. (A whole steer takes up a ...Continue Reading

41 Comments | |    Last Updated: May 26, 2022

Honey Mint Lip Balm Recipe

(Post revised and updated January 2018) Our chore load has substantially increased... ...but we couldn't be happier! We bought 50 Hereford heifer calves this fall, and these girls are a beginning of a dream come true for Christian and I. Hopefully, they will become the start of an eventual full-fledged cattle operation for us as we breed them and grow the herd. And so, even on the coldest, nastiest, most frigid days, he bounces ...Continue Reading

49 Comments | |    Last Updated: October 13, 2021

Our Extreme Farmhouse Remodel

Sometimes people change... Even bloggers. Yes, I know, it's hard to believe, huh? Several years ago, I wrote a post all about how much I loved living in a small house. And it was true-- I loved our little farmhouse with all its quirks. We had one toddler and a small baby and it fit us just perfectly. Then things changed. The toddler got bigger, the baby got bigger, I got pregnant with baby #3, our dogs got bigger, and ...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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