Creator Spotlight: Growing her farm life fam

This story is part of a series of occasional features about local creators who’ve built substantial followings on social media.

> Kayla Zenner

Kayla Zenner didn’t anticipate reaching tens of thousands of people when she started sharing “day in the life” posts from her farmhouse kitchen near Culdesac about six years ago.

But today, with more than 87,000 followers on TikTok and nearly 70,000 on Instagram, where her handle is The Farmstyle, Zenner meets the definition of an influencer.

The former high school math teacher’s online presence was slow growing until about a year and a half ago, when she had her first viral video.

“And that’s when I was able to start getting partnerships to make it more of an income,” she said during a recent visit at her home.

It was after her second son, Weston, now 3, was born that Zenner decided to stay home to care for him and his brother, Brody, 6. She “really dug in” with her website, started posting what she made for dinner each evening and shared moments from the farm life she and her husband, Clayton, have built.

Her pages grew, she started earning advertising revenue and she found a new balance, enjoying the freedom “to be able to do all the stay-at-home things and bring in an income to help with our family.”

Her family remains the motivation for her posts, but she’s cautious about what information she shares, Zenner said, noting she’ll often mention she’s in Idaho but never precisely where. And while it’s clear from her posts that she has children, she doesn’t use them for clicks.

“When I started growing, I kind of set that boundary that my kids aren’t at the forefront of my content,” she said.

Her focus is on helping people make homemade meals and baked goods — even if they don’t feel like they have time.

“I think there’s something so special about learning to make especially bread for your family,” she said. “I really focus on making that process as simple as possible.”

Zenner started teaching in-person sourdough classes about two years ago when she couldn’t keep up with the demand for her bread.

“You can go down a rabbit hole on social media with all the processes for making bread,” she said. “I just encourage them that it doesn’t have to be hard or scary to make bread or even just meals for your family.”

Much of her content creation happens during naptime, she said, and of course while making dinner. She spends another three or four hours a day editing video, typing a blog — “all the things that happen behind the scenes.”

A virtual assistant helps with cross-posting to Pinterest, YouTube and Facebook, which helps keep her from being on a device 24/7, something it’s “easy to get sucked into.”

“I try hard not to be on my phone and on my computer when my kids are here,” she said.

Zenner said she’s discovered some people prefer Instagram, some TikTok or Facebook — but others just want a paper book they can hold in their hands. So she’s self-publishing a book, “Farmstyle Cooks,” those in the latter group can order at kaylazenner.com/product/farmstyle-cooks. It’s set to come out Dec. 1.

Stone (she/her) can be reached at mstone@inland360.com.

Instagram (use symbol): @thefarmstyle

TikTok (use symbol): @thefarmstyle

Facebook (use symbol): facebook.com/groups/thefarmstyle

What was that first viral recipe that gave Zenner’s Farmstyle accounts such a boost? Cowboy casserole, a twist on traditional Tater Tots casserole made with hash browns, got close to a million views.

“It’s just simple to make, but so delicious,” she said.

Zenner uses a website to organize her recipes, since that format is more easily searchable than Instagram or TikTok posts. You can find her viral cowboy casserole (with more photos and tips), other recipes and information about her forthcoming book at: kaylazenner.com.

COWBOY CASSEROLE

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

1 Lipton onion soup mix packet

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded cheese

30 ounces shredded hash browns

1/2 pound bacon cooked + crumbled

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400.
• Cut bacon into small pieces and cook in a large cast iron skillet. Remove bacon from the pan and remove most of the bacon grease.
• Add ground beef to the skillet and cook until brown.
• Add Lipton onion soup mix, cream of mushroom soup, milk, sour cream, 1/2 cup cheese, and cooked bacon. Stir until combined.
• Pour hash browns on top of cooked meat mixture and top with remaining cheese. (Tip: you can toss the hash browns in the bacon grease prior to topping the meat mixture for extra flavor).
• Bake for 25-30 minutes. Enjoy!

More:

Sheet pan kielbasa (most popular on website): kaylazenner.com/easy-sheet-pan-kielbasa-and-tortellini-dinner.

Sourdough chocolate chip cookies (crowd favorite recipe): kaylazenner.com/the-best-sourdough-chocolate-chip-cookies.