The Prairie Homestead

Homesteading | Self Sufficient Living | Living off the Land

Jill Winger

51 Comments | |    Last Updated: May 11, 2020

How to Make Mozzarella Cheese

Learn how to make mozzarella cheese at home. This recipe is for a traditional-style method for making homemade mozzarella cheese. I have personally found that it consistently gives me a good tasting and great texture homemade cheese. I'll show you the ingredients and cheesemaking equipment you need as well as a picture tutorial and recipe for making the best tasting fresh mozzarella cheese. I've been promising ya'll a from-scratch ...Continue Reading

75 Comments | |    Last Updated: August 31, 2023

You Can’t Do it All- 5 Tips for Staying Sane as You Homestead

I had a rather stunning revelation the other day. I realized that I can't do it all. For real. And to be honest, I don't really like saying that out loud.... But it's true. It was during a moment of stressful frustration the other day that a lightbulb came on. I mean, yeah, we all say "I know I can't do it all," but secretly, I still thought I could. And that thought was causing me to get very grouchy... I had to laugh at ...Continue Reading

155 Comments | |    Last Updated: December 22, 2021

20 Essential Oil Recipes for Your Diffuser

This is a list of the 20 BEST essential oil recipes for diffusers. These 20 essential oil diffuser recipes are the tried-and-true recipes that I use in our home on a daily basis. The scent combinations are perfect and there's plenty of creative options for your many household's needs. I've officially broken-up with my store-bought candle collection. I used to be a complete candle-addict, but my candles have collected a lot of dust ...Continue Reading

182 Comments | |    Last Updated: April 10, 2019

How to Make Yogurt

There are lots of reasons to make your own yogurt. But the most important? It'll make you feel like a homesteading rockstar. Oh yeah. Okay... so maybe that isn't the *most* important reason, but it sure is fun. And besides the rockstar-thing, homemade yogurt is super nutritious (hello probiotic-goodness without all the flavorings and additives...) and pretty darn frugal, too. There are a million-and-one ways to make yogurt, and ...Continue Reading

100 Comments | |    Last Updated: September 25, 2025

20 Ways to Use Sour Raw Milk

I wasn't very far into my real food journey the first time I heard the term "clabber." My initial thought was, "What the heck is that?" So I promptly headed to Google to check it out. It's amazing how something that was so common a hundred years ago is so unheard of today... Clabber is basically thickened sour, raw milk. Part of the reason that we don't use the term anymore is because store-bought, pasteurized milk ...Continue Reading

123 Comments | |    Last Updated: January 5, 2023

From Barn to Fridge: 6 Tips for Safely Handling Raw Milk

Uh... So what do you do after it comes out of the udder? It's a question I get a lot--especially from folks of my generation whose previous experience with milk entails grabbing a jug of the white stuff out of the cooler at the grocery store. As I have shared many times, I have weighed the risks involved with drinking raw milk, and I am very comfortable with my decision. I feel as though the risks of drinking unpasteurized milk are ...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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