The Prairie Homestead

Homesteading | Self Sufficient Living | Living off the Land

Jill Winger

7 Comments | |    Last Updated: April 10, 2019

Rustic Pear Tart with Cream and Spice

Confession time: If I have to choose between a sinfully rich chocolate dessert and a fruit dessert, I usually pick the chocolate. Scandalous, I know... It's not that I don't enjoy fruit desserts, because I do, (especially my homemade peach pie!), but chocolate will always hold a special place in my heart. Especially when it's combined with some sort of cream. I mean, can you really compete with that? However.  The tables may have ...Continue Reading

30 Comments | |    Last Updated: January 26, 2022

My Top Homestead Time Management Tips

  Let's face it... Homesteading can be tough sometimes. Last week I asked the crew over on The Prairie Homestead Facebook page about the biggest obstacles preventing them from homesteading. Naturally, I got a diverse set of answers, but one kept popping up over and over again: lack of time. I totally get it. Since starting this homesteading gig years ago, time has been my biggest nemesis. When I worked full-time ...Continue Reading

10 Comments | |    Last Updated: June 30, 2023

How to Can Hot Pepper Jelly

  I'll admit it... I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to super-hot peppers. Because of that, I've never made hot pepper jelly, but this recipe from Jessica at Simply Healthy Home has me intrigued. Thanks for sharing your wisdom today Jessica! A few years ago, I planted a garden in hopes of having plenty of vegetables to eat and possibly preserve. We grew, peas, green beans, tomatoes, beets and peppers. Everything ...Continue Reading

44 Comments | |    Last Updated: June 13, 2023

Naturally-Sweetened Homemade Marshmallows

Don't make this homemade marshmallows recipe... Unless you have superb self-control, OR You are really good at hiding things from yourself... I've always had a thing for homemade marshmallows, so I could hardly wait to make a batch to christen the new fire ring that we put in last week. The problem? Life got in the way after I made them, so it was several days before we had our first fire. And the number of homemade ...Continue Reading

11 Comments | |    Last Updated: September 19, 2016

Get Pickin’! How to Make the Most of a U-Pick Harvest

A big welcome to Renee from Raising Generation Nourished to the blog today! She 's writing about a topic that honestly, makes me a bit green with envy... I grew up around U-Pick farms and absolutely love them. Unfortunately, they are pretty much non-existent where we currently live, so I did drool a bit at Renee's buckets of blueberries! ;)Years ago when I first made the switch to eating more whole foods, I wanted to “do it all." I am ...Continue Reading

19 Comments | |    Last Updated: May 4, 2026

How to Train a Heifer to Become a Family Milk Cow

We all have that dream of having our own milk cow, she would give us gallons of milk each day. We would make yogurt, sour cream, butter, mozzarella cheese, and still have extra for the other barnyard animals. While that was certainly my vision when I purchased my family cow, it didn't quite turn out that way. We had trouble getting her bred and she didn't give much milk. But she calved easily and was a gentle cow and terrific mother. ...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