Start Here

Maybe you’re dreaming of a garden, a few chickens, and more meals made from scratch. Or maybe you simply want to make your home a little healthier and more natural. Wherever you’re starting, welcome! Boots & Hooves Homestead is where I share the recipes, gardening tips, and homesteading skills our family has learned over the years.

You don’t need acres of land or a perfect plan to begin. Start with one thing that matters to your family, and learn as you go. I’ll help you find a place to start.

egg carton filled with a variety of colorful eggs

finished bread loaf out of the oven with a kitchen tea towel next to it.

Welcome to Boots & Hooves Homestead!

I’m so glad you’re here. If you’re hoping to grow some of your own food, cook more meals from scratch, or make a few simple changes around your home, you’ll find plenty to explore.

My family has spent years building our homestead in rural Nebraska. We’ve learned a lot by trying things out, changing our plans, and getting our hands dirty. Here, I share what’s helped us along the way: practical gardening and homesteading tips, comforting recipes, ideas for a more natural home, and the occasional glimpse of life on the ranch.

Whatever living beyond the conventional looks like for your family, I hope this is a welcoming place to begin.

raised garden bed with cabbage, broccoli, and other greens.

You’ll feel right at home here if…

You want to learn homesteading skills but aren’t sure where to begin.
You’re looking for simple ways to make your home a little more natural.
You’d love to grow more of the food your family eats, whether you have acres or a few garden beds.
You want a kitchen garden that’s lovely to look at and useful at dinnertime.
You’re a busy mom who wants to put comforting, from-scratch meals on the table without making every recipe an all-day project.

If any of that sounds like you, welcome! I’m glad we get to learn together.

Boots & Hooves Homestead in the Media

Hello, I’m Mary! I’m a Traditional Catholic, a rancher’s wife, and a homeschooling mother of four. Before all of this, I was a Southern California girl working in human resources and business operations. I loved my career and spent a lot of time volunteering in my community.

Then a job brought me to Nebraska, where I met my real-life cowboy. I fell for him—and, little by little, for country life too.

These days, we’re raising our family on a cattle ranch in the Sandhills. I traded pencil skirts and high heels for muddy jeans and muck boots, and I’ve learned quite a bit along the way!

harvesting tomatoes in the kitchen garden.

Creating that homestead life you crave, doesn’t have to be complicated.

My Mission

I started Boots & Hooves Homestead in 2016 to share what I was learning as our family settled into country life. I was figuring out how to grow more of our food, make a more natural home, and build the homestead we dreamed of—one project at a time.

My hope is to help you do the same in a way that works for your family. Here you’ll find practical tips for getting started, lessons from what we’ve tried on our own homestead, and simple changes you can make wherever you live.

And because so much of our life happens around the table, I share comforting recipes made with real-food ingredients, too. Good food is even better when you get to sit down and enjoy it together.

Most evenings, I don’t have hours to spend making dinner. With four children and a busy home, I need meals that are simple to make and comforting to share. That’s the kind of food I love to bring to the table, and the kind of recipes I share here.

I’m the oldest of six, and I grew up in a big Italian family where food brought everyone together. My grandparents came to the United States from Italy and Greece, and they taught me a great deal about cooking from scratch. Their influence still finds its way into my kitchen, alongside what we grow and harvest here on the homestead.

I hope these recipes help you feel at home in your kitchen, whether you’re making a weeknight dinner or gathering family and friends around the table.

Follow Along

I’ve never been one to keep up with every social media platform, but I do love hearing from you! You can find Boots & Hooves on Pinterest, or send me an email and tell me what’s happening on your homestead.