The Prairie Homestead Cookbook

A desire for a life in the country, where her family could raise and grow the food they eat, led Jill Winger and husband Christian to buy land in southeast Wyoming that had a house and plenty of area for them to plant a garden, plus raise chickens, milk cows, goats, beef cattle, and the crops to support the animals. By trial and error, and a whole lot of hard work, Jill took to the homesteading life with a primary goal of having wholesome food for her family.

The Prairie Homestead Cookbook is far more than a book of recipes; it is filled with stories of homesteading life in a modern world and tips and tricks for sustainable living.  And if you don’t have land, or don’t want to have your own milk cows, chickens, hogs or other animals, there is advice on how to have better food for your family when everything (or most of it) comes from a grocery store.

As for the recipes, they are made with ingredients readily available even in rural areas.  And most of these recipes qualify as healthy comfort food such as Fresh Pasta with Pesto Cream Sauce, Roasted Beets & Whipped Goat Cheese, and Green Chili Cornbread.

Jill, a young mother, is wise beyond her years and she also dishes a solid serving of advice for better living in a world that has “jam-packed calendars, activities every night of the week, and a never-ending stream of commitments” that “have the potential to create the perfect cocktail of stress and exhaustion that leaves us not caring about much of anything.” 

And for those of you who want to truly begin homesteading, Jill has advice on planting, the types of chickens to raise, and whether to get fresh milk from a cow or a couple of goats.

Reviewed by Chris Enss, COWGIRL Book Editor, and a New York Times best-selling author who writes about women of the Old West.