The Prairie Homestead

Homesteading | Self Sufficient Living | Living off the Land

Jill Winger

159 Comments | |    Last Updated: December 27, 2023

Homesteading in Wyoming

I get a number of emails from folks curious about moving to Wyoming to homestead. And I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, considering I often post photos like this: And this: And this: Pretty picturesque, dontcha think? But when I get emails from people who, thanks to my blog, are ready to move to Wyoming as soon as I give them the green light, I sometimes want to yell, "Wait a second!" before they go and load ...Continue Reading

40 Comments | |    Last Updated: July 31, 2022

How to Make Pork Broth

  I was so thrilled when Craig Fear from Fearless Eating said he'd write a post on making pork broth. I feel like I've pretty much mastered making poultry and beef broth, but have yet to venture into homemade pork broth. I'm ready to give it a try after reading Craig's advice, though! With the resurgence of interest in making real homemade bone broth from actual bones, pork broth is an option few people consider. In fact, I ...Continue Reading

28 Comments | |    Last Updated: January 17, 2019

Growing Dwarf Fruit Trees

Think you can't grow fruit because your homestead is too small? Think again! I'm excited to have Lee from Lady Lee's Home sharing her expertise on growing dwarf fruit trees today. Wyoming is generally too cold for fruit, but now even I'm wondering if I can't plant one in a pot and keep it inside!  We purchased our house because of the gravel driveway. I know, it sounds silly... You see, it gave me a bit of a country feeling even ...Continue Reading

16 Comments | |    Last Updated: November 15, 2022

From Scratch Thanksgiving Menu

  There's just something special about the hustle and bustle of a busy kitchen on Thanksgiving morn... It's chaotic and crazy, but it brings back a lot of good memories. Sadly, for most of America, Thanksgiving food = processed food. There's green bean casserole swimming in MSG-laden cream soup, jiggly cranberry jelly from a can, and yams smothered in marshmallows. (By the way, who the heck started the whole marshmallow ...Continue Reading

12 Comments | |    Last Updated: October 4, 2022

Raising Meat on a Small Homestead

I have always been a firm believer that you can homestead no matter where you are, whether you have 1 acre or 100 hundred. A smaller homestead may not be able to have all the things, but there are defiantly things you can do to create that sustainable homestead lifestyle. Today I am happy to welcome Heather from The Homesteading Hippy so that she can share her best advice for raising meat on a small homestead. She is proof and the ...Continue Reading

38 Comments | |    Last Updated: June 13, 2023

How to Cook a Pastured Turkey

If you want to know how to confuse a homestead kid... Get a turkey from the store. Poor Prairie Girl didn't know what to think when she walked into the kitchen as I was cramming apples and onions into a big ol' raw turkey. "Mommy... WHO is that?!"  She had just been outside and knew our big turkey was still strutting around the yard. The little turkeys we had brought home this spring had been eaten by raccoons, so she ...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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