This year has been the best year I can remember in a very long time for tomatoes, and I have a bumper crop! I did water-bath can some of them as sauce last month, but honestly, it's an ordeal. So here's a super easy method for freezing diced tomatoes so that you have them all winter long to be used in soups, chili, stews, and sauces, any recipe that calls for a can of diced tomatoes. Roasting them first adds so much flavor!

Let's Freeze 'Em!

Preheat oven to 390 degrees.

No need to blanch and peel the tomaotes, they taste fine with skins on. This cuts your work into a fraction of the time it would otherwise take. Chop the tomatoes into 16th (that's in half, then half the halves and half again - got that?) You can add fresh basil if...

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Dinnertime often sneaks up on me. Suddenly it's 6:00 pm and I'm starving. But when I'm tired from working all day, cooking feels like a big deal that I don't care to tackle.

Up until a few years ago, that mindset is how I'd end up eating junk-laden foods like frozen pizza, Kraft Mac & Cheese, Chinese carry-out and my dirty little secret addiction: a drive-thru Big Mac and fries wolfed down in the car on the ride back home. And now the empty nest dragon is trying to hurl me back into these old habits.

The key to breaking that bad habit has been to come up with meals that I can prep, cook, and have on my table in under 30 minutes. By "on the table" I mean, eat standing up at my kitchen island, another empty nest gut-punch because sitting alone at...

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I'm Day 18 "Empty Nest" and here to report that although I am better, I am not great.

First, let me tell you that my son has adjusted to college life even better than I had ever imagined, I've never seen him happier. And I am so very grateful. I raised him to be an independent thinker, not afraid to take risks, kind, brave, optimistic, and with an understanding that the whole wide world is his for the taking if he is willing to do the work. But shit, it's hard to watch that play out now.

Yes, I am proud of him, happy he is only an hour away, glad that he got into a good school, and blah, blah, blah. But I like him a lot and I miss him a lot. It's really that simple.

There have been so many things these past two-plus weeks that I've...

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For all the Mama's who dropped their baby off at a college campus this month, this poem by Gretchen Schmelzer is for you. May it comfort you.

The Universe deposited this message in my in-box yesterday, the same day that I delivered my son to his college dorm to live with a roommate he's never met.

When I finally sat down last night after a very long and difficult day to catch up on email, in the deafening quiet of my house without Johnny, there it was, this poem, a lifeline.

Leaving my baby boy in Madison yesterday was the hardest thing I have ever done as a parent. I had been preparing us for this day for months, years really, but I now know that nothing was ever going to prepare me for that moment when I hugged and kissed him, said goodbye, and...

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Homemade pasta sauce, made from homegrown tomatoes, is far superior to anything you're going to buy in a grocery store. If you don't grow tomatoes, head to the Farmers Market this week and buy them because tomatoes are in season and at their peak in August. I use a combination of any and all of the tomatoes I've grown, paying no attention to what the experts say are the "best" for sauce (ie: Romas). They're all good!

I found this recipe years ago online, I wish I could remember the source, but I can't. It's got a kick, so if you do not like a bit of heat, omit the red pepper flakes. And if you like a lot of heat, add more. Yes, this recipe is a lot of work but if you love fresh...

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Just like my grandmother and my mother before me, I've been "putting up pickles" for as long as I can remember. Over the years, I've tried a lot of different recipes and spices but I always come back to this recipe, our family recipe. It's a traditional dill pickle recipe that is not too tart, or too salty, or bland.

Head to the farmers market now, this week! "Pickles", which are cucumbers that are not fully grown, are in season but won't be much longer. Look for cucumbers that are ideally no more than 3 inches long and were freshly picked that day or the day before. 12 pounds of cukes will yeild 10 quarts of dill pickles. The cukes should feel firm and crisp, not limp or rubbery, which indicates they were picked several days ago. As soon as you...

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Calling all hippies, young and old! My son, Johnny, is designing, making and selling Limited Edition Tie-Dye shirts on my website.

The shirts are $16 each and 100% of the money from the sale of these shirts is going into his college fund. Johnny will be a freshman at the University of Wisconsin - Madison in September, majoring in Biochemistry.

Visit my website and if you love a shirt, grab it! Johnny is adding new shirts weekly, so check back often. If there is a specific color, pattern, or size you'd like, shoot us a message and Johnny can...

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Drinking plenty of water each day (six, 8oz. glasses) is one of the best things we can do for our skin. But it's a struggle for me, because I get so bored with drinking plain old water. How about you? I don't drink soda and iced tea gets boring very quickly, too.

Last week I was surfing Pinterest and came upon flavored water recipes that sounded refreshing for summer. So I bought these cool glass bottles on Amazon to give it a whirl,  here's a link.

For the price ($20), I expected cheap bottles with plastic caps. I was absolutely delighted to open the box and find these bottles! In fact, I immediately ordered 6 more bottles. No more Ice Mountain water in a plastic bottle for this household.

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If you haven't established a bedtime routine, now would be a great time to think about doing so. Established routines lead to good habits. A healthy sleep habit is one of the best things you can do all around for your body, and your skin.

These 8 things are simple ways to insure a good nights sleep, which is mandatory for optimal health and contributes to glowing skin.

1. Disconnect from all electronic devices at least one hour before bedtime. And for God's sake, do not check your work email.
2. Limit alcohol intake. Try a cup of hot tea instead.
3. Take a bath. Use a few drops of scented bath oil or essential oil, light a candle.
4. Apply a moisturizer from head to toe to hydrate and protect your skin.
5. Change your pillowcase. You know that wonderful feeling you get when...

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Your skin is a reflection of what is going on inside your body. Here are 6 signs that stress might be the culprit:

1. Acne
2. Cold Sores
3. Hair Loss
4. Rashes/Hives
5. Worsening of eczema / psoriasis
6. Wrinkles

What do you do to manage stress? Because we all know that eliminating stress is not ever going to happen. Stress is a fact of life.

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