Melissa K. Norris inspires people's faith and pioneer roots with her books, podcast, and blog. Melissa lives with her husband and two children in their own little house in the big woods in the foothills of the North Cascade Mountains. When she's not wrangling chickens and cattle, you can find her stuffing Mason jars with homegrown food and playing with flour and sugar in the kitchen.
By Melissa Norris | Gardening , Podcast
Saving time in the garden is important, because modern homesteaders need all the time they can get for preserving, crafting and some time enjoying their haven. One of the things that all of us wants is to have is a beautiful crop from whatever it is we’re planting. We want to get the most produce […]
Read MoreBy Melissa Norris | Cattle , Livestock , Podcast
Keeping a family milk cow or having a home dairy on the homestead is something I’ve long considered. Grass fed organic raw milk at he store is hard to come by… and you’re also paying more for all that wonderfulness. Dreams of cream, farmers cheese, cream cheese, buttermilk, glass jars of creamy white milk lined […]
Read MoreBy Melissa Norris | Lifestyle , Podcast
Tips for homesteading off-grid, living without running water or a refrigerator, and how to get creative using old-fashioned pioneer skills to preserve your food. Learn how one family is using solar power to live off grid in a one room cabin without running water or a refrigerator, just like the pioneer families of old, and […]
Read MoreBy Melissa Norris | DIY Recipes & Tutorials , Foraging , Natural Medicine Cabinet , Podcast
Homesteaders learn to look at things commonly seen as a problem and figure out a way to use them where we actually enjoy them or they’re beneficial on the homestead. Weeds is one of those things. Today I have Kathie Lapcevic from HomespunSeasonalLiving.com on the podcast and we’re going to be talking about weeds and […]
Read MoreBy Melissa Norris | Podcast
No matter where you’re at on your home setting or self-sufficiency journey, the kitchen is the heart of everything. Because we’ve all got a kitchen, and we all need to eat every single day. But it’s an area that can oftentimes cause a lot of stress. You wouldn’t think so, but for me, meal time […]
Read MoreBy Melissa Norris | Gardening , Podcast , Raising Your Own Food
If there’s one thing I’ve learned growing our own food, it’s that you cannot control the weather and no area is perfect for all foods. However, there are work arounds and things you can do to raise more of your own food, even with severe weather. One thing about homesteaders, we know how to work […]
Read MoreBy Melissa Norris | Chickens , Livestock , Podcast
Using chickens in the garden – 13 things you need to know first, to save you and your chickens a lot of heartache and frustration. Our goal is to use our crops and animals as a compliment to one another. But if you’ve ever dealt with free ranging chickens and having your crops or plants […]
Read MoreBy Melissa Norris | Instant Pot/ Pressure Cooking , Main Dish , Recipes , Slow Cooker
This easy beef stew recipe is a favorite at our house. Even more so now that I’ve converted it to Instant pot beef stew, but no worries, you can use your slow cooker if you haven’t joined the Instant pot craze. But I warn you, once you go Instant Pot, you’ll never go back. One […]
Read MoreBy Melissa Norris | Homestead Life , Podcast
The call for a de-cluttered and organized homestead and kitchen is strong ya’ll. Whenever I see that quiz floating around that says you have to pick one wish to come true from the 4 options, having a house cleaner always is the one that my finger hovers over. If you’re like me, you love the […]
Read MoreBy Melissa Norris | Gardening , Podcast , Raising Your Own Food
Raising a years worth of food is something I get asked about quite a bit, especially what it takes and what’s involved. Today we’re going to dive into some common myths people have, both in regards to gardening, but especially when it comes to producing enough of a crop to take you and your family […]
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