back now with more of "today" on a monday morning. it is the 12th day of december, 2011. kind of a chilly start to the day, but this makes you feel like it is really christmas. grt shopping weather. great weather to take a tour around new york city and hopefully these people will be doing both of those things later in the day. i'm matt lauer, along with ann curry, al roker and savannah guthrie. so we have black friday, we have cyber monday, and apparently today is green monday, the second monday -- second monday in the month of december is green monday. to be followed by taupe tuesday

tomorrow. this is apparently a big day for shipping packages and online shopping. we'll tell you more about -- actually fedex planning to ship 17 million packages today. 17 million. all that shipping, of course, means people are spending and we are going to have some good tips for all those holiday gotchas, whether it is the extended warrantees that the stores are offering or some stores use certain scents that make you want to buy. there is a new one on me. >> really. a lot of times i've noticed that. that and the music, i think. >> they turn the air conditioning up so you'll buy heavy coats. >> do they do that in restaurants so you eat more? >> well that also would work. >> i don't know. >> just trying to get a word in here. you're like in a bad tennis match here. >> i'm telling you. >> we'll talk later. >> enough! if you prefer the sun and surf to the cold weather, have we got some deals for you. we've got plenty of warm weather destinations from california to costa rica offering some great deals right now that are just

waiting to be snapped up. also coming up, the end of the year is nearly upon us. nearly every time about this time of year we talk about the best in beauty so the best in beauty 2011 from wrinkle repair to hair color to lipstick, we've got a bunch of things that are all under $30. great. let's go inside, natalie is standing by at the news desk with the best in headlines. good morning, everyone. we begin with what could be a record setting day, as you heard, for online retailers an shipping companies as green monday has holiday shoppers scrambling at the last minute. cnbc's brian schactman is at the fedex center in the bronx with more. brian, good morning. >> good morning, natalie. say people at home have three kids to get out the door in an average day? what if i had to tell them they had to deal with six today. that's basically the story with fedex. that 17 million package is twice the average daily volume and a lot of that has to do with the fact that the holiday shopping season is off to a very strong start.

internet retailers call it green monday. that's because according to analysts, the second monday in december has become as big for online holiday shoppers as the monday after thanksgiving. >> we might see the strongest day ever this week even surpassing what we saw on cyber monday a couple of weeks ago. >> reporter: as much as $1 billion could be spent online today, spurred by low prices and free shipping offered by many retailers. shipping companies like fedex and pups have hired thousands of people and ramped up operations in order to handle the christmas rush. >> this is all amazon. hundreds of thousands of amazon packages every day. >> come right through this door. >> i think the drivers of e-commerce have always been convenience and price and i think that this year especially, price is really important. >> reporter: and it is not just online. shoppers are spending offline as well. despite the sluggish economy, this holiday season is so far turning out to be more joyful than expected. >> consumer confidence is picking up a bit and we're seeing that in the spending numbers. >> reporter: according to the

cnbc all-america economic survey, the average shopper plans to spend $751 this year, up 22% from last year. business is especially brisk at outlet malls, up 18% from last year. >> everything is under one roof and the prices really are better than regular department stores. and you really -- you can see the reduction in prices. it is pretty amazing. >> reporter: this is also a jobs story. fedex adds 20,000 seasonal workers. 55,000 at u.p.s. even for a short time, that's 75,000 jobs in the u.s. economy. natalie, from that perspective, it is a win-win. back to you. >> good boost to the economy. brian schactman there in the bronx, thank you. disgraced former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky will face some of the young men who accused him of sexual abuse tomorrow in court. sandusky's lawyer told nbc news he believes at least some of the accusers are motivated by money. meantime, some new questions are being raised about the key

witness in the case and whether he actually saw sandusky abusing a young boy or just heard something suspicious. thousands of americans across the northeast are bracing for a cold winter ahead as the federal government makes deep cuts to funding that subsidizes heating bills for our nation's poor. as applicants for heating assistance programs surge by as much as 10% in some areas, congress is weighing more than $1 billion in cuts to those benefits. one-time military dictator manuel noriega is back in panama this morning to begin serving three 20-year sentences for murdering his political opponents while in power. the drug running strongman was toppled in a u.s. invasion back in 1989 and has since been behind bars, first in florida, and then in france. hollywood is getting coal in its stocking this holiday season. this past weekend was the worst in more than three years. the star-filled "new year's leave" only brought in $13.7

million. "the sitter" in second, "breaking dawn" was third. the bebes and barack are bringing in the holidays together. the star-studded annual christmas event in washington raised money for the children's national medical center. the whole first family kicked off the event by greeting patients from the hospital dressed as elves. very sweet. it is now six minutes past the hour. let's go back outside to matt and ann. >> natalie, thank you very much. >> yeah. let's get a check of the weather. how about talking to you, mr. roker? >> thank you. got some friends who want to share their firefighter calendar. yikes. wow. one of your friends? >> this is actually one of my firefighters i work with at a fire department in the city of tampa, florida. >> all right. there you go. florida's bravest. there you go. let's check your weather. thank you very much. we'll be picking that up for our director joe michaels very shortly. wet weather down through

southern florida and parts of southern georgia as well. we've got some heavy rain there. also looking at rain coming into southern california. mountain snows in the southwest. flurries in the western parts of the great lakes. we got air stagnation advisories again in the pacific northwest. >> good morning. a cold cold start for us on this monday. a storm system will pass to the south. we will see a >> and that's your latest weather. savannah?

>> announcer: "today's" money is brought to you by bank of america. this morning on "today's" money, holiday shopping gotchas. msnbc financial analyst vera gibbons is here with some tips on how to avoid common retail tricks that may get you to spend more money than you want to. good morning to you. before we start, let's just put this in perspective. how many americans are still paying off last christmas' bills? >> the number will astound you. 14 million americans or 6% of us are still paying off last year's credit card debt. i imagine that number will go even high they are year because people are doing a lot of shopping online, using their credit cards. fast and furiously. >> so to avoid overspending you've got some tips. the first one on your list is don't fall for the store credit card deal. but they entice you because they say we'll give you 10% or 20% off your purchase. >> right. and you get the pitch at the counter. very inenticing. these cards are very easy to get. but, the interest rates on these things typically exceed 20% versus about 14% for credit cards. if you carry a balance month to

month, the same-day savings is going to be wiped out by the interest and fees you'll have to fee and there could be consequences to your credit score, too. if you open up a lot of these accounts, going on a shopping binge, racking up the debt and using all of your available credit, could you get dinged by as much as 20, 30 points. >> your number one tip to avoid overspending. >> the fool-proof way is to spend cash. that may not be the most practical for people though. if you are going to charge on your credit card, make sure you can pay it off in a month or two max. >> people are saying what is cash? big holiday sales, door busters. you should avoid those? >> the thing is, retailers are using a sense of urgency to get consumers to spend because they know if the sale is limited, if it is one day we might actually spend. the one-day sale turns into a week-long sale. the door buster sale isn't all that great so you really have to take the time to to do your homework, do georgia to the comparison sites. i like fatwallet.

googleshopper is a popular one. people are scanning bar codes, using sites like redlays to check and do comparison shopping. >> do you that on your phone? >> 18 million people are shopping on their smartphones this holiday season. a phenomenal number. i would also suggest you check out the reviews. e-opinions.com to see what others are saying about the products because just because something's on sale doesn't mean it is a good product. >> do they ever jack up the prices, then put it on sale to make you feel like you're getting a deal? >> that may be a sneaky way. >> here's a crazy one. you say they actually use scents that entice us to buy? what kind of scents? >> music, too, as ann curry pointed out. they use vanilla, chocolate, cinnamon, maybe apple this time of year is pretty popular. try get you in the right frame of mind to actually spend. these scents appeal to our emotions, they put us in that frame of mind that allows a commitment to occur. buying is a commitment. you see all sorts of scents used particularly over the holidays.

and again, music. just be aware of it. there's nothing you can really do but be in tune with your emotional state. >> electronic products. a lot of people are offered the extended warrantees and because these are often big-ticket items you're tempted by it because you don't want it to break, then you lose all your money. >> "consumer reports" survey show time and time again this is not a good deal for consumers. we spend $1 billion on warrantees over the holidays. profit margins on these things are phenomenal. chances are you don't need the extended warrantee. first, most products don't even break during the period of the extended warrantee coverage. that's the main thing. also some repairs are covered under the standard warrantee anyway so you probably don't need one. if you need peace of mind, just check with your credit card company. a lot of issues offer extended protection. if you have a high-end card some will double the extended warrantee period at no extra charge to you. >> a lot of these places have restocking fees so if you return an electronic product they'll charge you $20 or more. how do you avoid that?

>> you can't. you have to sort of know the policies in advance. it does apply primarily to electronics. don't open anything that you think you will potentially return. >> vera, all good advice. beware of the scents. coming up next, chilling out with the warm weather get-away. we'll show you some hotel deals being offered right now. and later the best beauty products of the year. they work, and they are affordable. they work, and they are affordable. but first, these messages. l. i earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. that's 1% back on... [ toy robot sounds ] 2% on pumpkin pie. and apple. 3% back on 4 trips to the airport. it's as easy as 1... -2... -3... [ male announcer ] the bankamericard cash rewards card. apply online or at a bank of america near you. [ toy robot sounds ] dad. did you know it's 22 days, 11 hours and 2 minutes to christmas? [ mumbling ] ...enny days, 8 hours, 9 minutes...

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those shoes are just lovely. >> you can't see them. let's talk about travel though. >> oh, there they are! do they come with a little wheel that they can run around? >> i like pets wherever i go. >> let's start in hawaii. >> let's talk about hawaii and more importantly stop going to the mall. buy people travel for christmas. it is a genius idea. you get to go with them! >> whether they like it or not. okay. so let's start in honolulu. >> if you want to go to waikiki, the hyatt regency waikiki beach, they renovated, $2 million, you can stay for $219 a night. the fun thing they do on fridays is aloha friday. from 4:30 to 6:00 they have hula performances, can you learn how to make leis, hands on. and the beautiful waters right beyond. >> palm springs. >> i love palm springs. i like the retro cool of it.

no other place has focus on the retro cool as much as the ace hotel and swim club. for $109 a night can you stay at this place. it just makes you feel cooler to go to this hotel. i can't explain it other than they just know how to basically throw a great party. they keep the pool open until 2:00 a.m. they have deejays, yoga classes. you can get spa treatments, et cetera. there are people waiting. >> this next one, the island of viakis. didn't they have a bombing thing? >> not a bombing thing. >> targets. >> the u.s. navy was based there. they no longer are. a lot of the island is quite preserved. a malicon house is on the southern side of the island. can you stay for $175 a night. what i love about this place the fact that the two owners took a year to renovate this house and they are there and taking care of you with everything that you need. they only have ten rooms.

you get lots of personal attention and you can have water -- not water. can you have breakfast -- you can have as much water as you want! >> fantastic! >> this is the kind of service we look for. can you have breakfast with a view of the caribbean and it is gorgeous. >> that view includes water. >> there's so much water -- more water than you can handle. >> let's go to costa rica. >> you can't rock me. okay. costa rica. the niara hotel and spa. this is a gorgeous hotel that is surrounded by tropical rain forest and right within view of this volcano. it looks familiar because it was just featured in nbc's "loving the wild" which is a series that just aired and did very well. forget about the loving the wild, what i love is you are really in a nature laugher love paradise. this is a great, great resort. anyone who wants to go somewhere and really wake up their senses, i would recommend this one. >> if you go whitewater rafting

you are in the water. >> there's water there, too. honestly it is a theme throughout this segment. even the next property. >> orlando, florida. >> the kids love to go to disney and we can't blame them. >> and universal studios. >> thank you very much. brought to you by -- and so why not take them to hilton orlando bonnet creek. a great deal right now, one room $239 a night, second room half off. the kids can have their own room which is great. free transportation right from the hotel to disney. not to universal, unfortunately. they have a two-acre water -- again, it is a pool that goes around the entire property for two acres. >> that's fantastic. always great to see you. >> always water. >> bye, guys. still ahead, from wrinkle creams to night cream, we've got the cream of the crop in your beauty products. that's coming up after these messages. where sleepless nights yield to restful sleep. and lunesta can help you get there, like it has for so many people before.

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time to deploy the chex mix boring potato chip decoy bag. now no one will want to steal the deliciousness. with a variety of tastes and textures, only chex mix is a bag of interesting.

also make beautiful you're a miracle worker sabrina soto.. [sfx: doorbell rings] and you can mix your seasonal pieces with your everyday china. [sfx: knocking on door] and now you need to hide. oh, i love the mercury glass pieces on the mantel, we could put some evergreen pieces... you know a simple touch like adding. oh, i think we should quickly decorate the hallway, wouldn't that be fun? maybe just put some...oh thank you so much, i'm going to bring you a snack later. wait, i still need to talk to you about led candles. happy holiday's. hey! hi! please come in. you know ornaments, they make a great centerpiece. but to be honest, i find the omega choices overwhelming. which one is right for me? then i found new pronutrients omega-3. it's from centrum, a name i trust.

it goes beyond my heart to support my brain and eyes too. and these ultra-concentrated minigels are much smaller than many others. it's part of a whole new line of supplements. there's probiotic and fruit & veggie too. new pronutrients from centrum helps make nutrition possible. we had a really generous crowd helping us with our toy drive this morning. actress michelle yo was here a little bit earlier today helping collect lots of gifts for underprivileged children that are now on their way to homeless shelters on the west coast right now. >> we've already delivered some $25 million in toys and gifts for needy children and haley

from southwestern company is here this morning. good morning to you. tell us about your donation. >> good morning to you guys. thanks so much for having us. we are delighted to announce that we've been donating since about 2004 but this is, by far, our largest donation at over $1 million retail value. educational software ranging from preschool all the way through college prep and we also are providing access to our membership based website that offers both educational tools and life building tools for students and their families. >> that helps parents help their kids. >> exactly. which is one of the biggest challenges for kids. >> southwestern has done a lot philanthropically. tell us about some of the organizations you've helped out over the years. >> we absolutely have. we do a lot to help college students. we have over 3,000 college students around both united states, canada and europe that build a business with our company each summer. so we involve them in a lot of our philanthropic work. for example, they were just -- >> actually, we have to stop right there. you guys have done a bunch of great work for us.

>> thank you so much. it was a pleasure and thanks to the "today" show for having us. >> of course you can donate. the "today" show for having us. >> of course you can donate. go to our website. the contacts you've got to see to believe. acuvue® oasys brand contact lenses with hydraclear® plus technology, keeping your eyes exceptionally comfortable all day long. it feels like it disappeared on my eye. [ male announcer ] discover why it's the brand eye doctors trust most for comfort. if you have astigmatism, there's an acuvue® oasys lens for that too, realigning naturally with every blink. ask your doctor for acuvue® oasys brand.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is a wbal-tv 11 news update. >> it is a cold start this monday. not a whole lot going on a weather-wise, and that is ok. mixture of sunshine and clouds into the afternoon. high temperatures in the mid- forties. we will turn it up a little bit. 51 tomorrow, same thing on wednesday.

this is the miracle blade world class knife set. they're stainless steel. the retail $140. the deal -- $29.95. >> wow! >> that was jill martin last week with one of her fantastic steals and deals where she showcases some great items discounted exclusively for you, our "today" viewer. she'll be back here tomorrow with some gifts for everyone in your family and you won't want to miss the bargain she has this time. as much as 85% off. again, that's steals and deals tomorrow on "today." you got to be on it. to get it. >> everything must go. >> be in it to win it. coming up, the best in beauty. the folks at "shape" magazine have scoured the shelves and are out with their list of the top beauty picks of the year that

really work. most of them can be bought at your local drugstore for $32. then jack kennedy. he was president for just 1,000 days. from his inauguration to his assassination, he has been a figure of great fascination all these years. now chris matthews is out with a new and sometimes surprising look at the president in "jack kennedy elusive hero." we're uncovering the secret to an easy main course by using your favorite side dishes. we'll show you how to make two main meals from one side in "today's" kitchen. first you got a check of the weather for us? two for one? >> that's exactly it. today we've got sunshine here in the east, icy conditions in minnesota and wisconsin. looking at rain in the southern california area. snow in the southwest. and then for tomorrow, the rain will end down in florida. they'll have sunny and milder conditions. cool as you get into the othhio river valley.

rain in the mississippi river valley. more snow in the southwest. hard to believe. they've had more snow in arizona than they've had >> good morning. temperatures will be where we should be this time of year, near average. the average guy is 46. >> and that's your latest weather. coming up next, the best beauty products of the year and they won't bust your budget, either. and then what you didn't know about president kennedy from author and tv host and one of our favorites, chris matthews. after these messages. and it's all your fault. naturally blame the mucus.

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this morning on "today's" beauty, the best products of 2011. senior lifestyle editor nor "shape" magazine is here with her top beauty picks that are affordable. good morning. >> good morning, natalie. >> so define "new" and how many of these new products debut every year on orange? >> well, so many products come out every year but at "shape" we go through and test them all. today we are sharing some of our favorites from 2011. >> they're innovative. >> they all have technology, they all work and they're all under $30. >> which we love. good price tag. okay. start off with your favorite wrinkle cream and this one is

neutrogena. $20. >> the great thing about this is that it has retinol and hyaluronic acid. retinol stimulates your collagen production, it will plump up your skin, get rid of those fine lines that we all have. the hyaluronic acid really hydrates your skin. but the best thing about this product is it works in just seven days. you're getting fast results for $20. great bang for your buck. >> wow. seven days. that's amazing. now eye makeup remover. it is always hard to find the one that gets everything off, especially waterproof makeup. you found the solution. >> this is from sephora. if you wear contacts or have sensitive skin around your eyes, this does the trick. it gets rid of every last trace of your waterproof mascara or eyeliner. under $10. >> great on your wallet. okay, now hair color. the new inknow ration it seems the new color foams. this is something that's been

really easy by niceneasy. >> it is a lot less expensive to color your hair at home than it is to go to the salon but a lot of women are afraid to do tho this. it is usually messy and a big hassle. this is a no-drip foam solution. just put this on your hair, super easy to use. it will give you great color, great tone and you have results for up to eight weeks. >> the color that you see on the box is the color you're going to get? >> it is true to the box. >> that's good. that's always hard to gauge. next, boots number seven. these are very popular in the uk and now sold at target. this is the body cream? >> a lot of people go to great lengths to make sure that the skin on our face is protected but we forget about our neck, our chest an our shoulders. so this is a great body serum, anti-aging, it will get rid of any damage you may have experienced or prevent future damage. you put this on your body and you will you a see results in just four weeks. >> wow. got to get on that one.

over here, shadow pencils that glide on. by urban decay. >> how cool is this? so this is an eye shadow that just glides on like silk. super easy. you don't have to deal with the brush. you don't have to deal with the brush or you don't have to worry about the compact falling on the bathroom floor and shattering. i do that all the time. and it is silky smooth and it is going to last for up to 16 hours. >> perfect. >> bold color, long lasting. >> very nice. and they glide on. over here, dark spot correctors. by garni oechlt r. >> if you have dark spots from aging, sun damage, acne scar spots, this is a corrector. put this on your face an within a matter of weeks it will fade those dark spots. >> what's the active ingredient? >> vitamin c is what makes those dark spots go away. >> very good. for those with sensitive skin, again we have great face cream. >> this one is from burt's bees. it is a night cream. it is a wonderful product -- the

wonderful thing about this is it is very, very great if your skin is irritated or tends to break out. it has cotton extracts and a little bit of aloe and rice. >> smells good, too. >> it is all natural. it is great if you're into that organic stuff. >> last, but not least, we all love a new lipstick and this is the new formula by chanel out just last month. is that right? the velvet formula? >> velvet allure. this is one of my favorites. now this is a matte lipstick. matte lipstick tends to get a bad rap because it looks and feels really dry on your lips but chanel's formula is amazing. it is moisturizing, it is beautiful and it really does feel like velvet. plus it has a little bit of mother of pearl pigment so you get that rich finish. >> they're beautiful colors, too. thank you so much. appreciate it. good job testing it all out for us. coming up next, he inspired generations of americans. now a new and revealing look at president john f. kennedy in a new book by "hardball's" chris

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as we approach the next presidential election, there's been a lot of talk about what characteristics are needed in a modern president. many former presidents are held up as ideals, including, of course, john f. kennedy.

now chris matthews, host of msnbc's "hardball" has delved into the kennedy era and mystique in his book "jack kennedy elusive hero." one thing you say in the book is that jack kennedy loved politics. when you think of where we are in our politics today, it is almost a bad word. what it was that he liked? >> i think he liked getting together with the guys. during the crisis over desegregation in the south, he had a little gesture like this. all his mafia guys got around the table. let's go, we got to go to war now. he seemed to like it. >> he loved people. >> he was a happy guy. everybody talks about the girlfriends. i wanted to get back to what he was like day to day among his friends and the people he worked with, the real jack, as ben bradley said, he used to say the reason people read books like this is to answer the question, what's he really like. that's what i wanted to find out. >> you talk about his leadership

again in our modern campaigns that quality people often talk about but so rarely exhibit. how would you explain what you meant by the fact that he had leadership qualities? >> a leader is a guy who other people follow into battle. colin powell is a natural leader, for example. you just want to follow him. think the greatest thing he ever said was ask not what your country can do for you. because it asked the american people get involved. they don't want to watch their american president be bill yant, they want to be asked to follow him. they want a leader, not a genius as president. like the peace corps and the space program, we all felt involved in the early '60s. people like to be asked. >> that's an interesting distinction. people think a leader, oh, a leader tells you "do this," then you are supposed to do that. >> come on, join the peace corps. do a 50-mile hike. root for the space program. american people felt like it was our government. president obama is probably martyr than kennedy but after the inauguration, everybody was sent home. you got to be brought in. a leader is somebody who brings others along. i think it was the great spirit.

television shows like "mad men," i like people like the early '60s because it is about a positive, upbeat "we can do it" spirit. >> you mentioned that famous kennedy line, ask not what your country can do for you. >> back when he was in prep school, he heard his master say ask not what you could do for her, the school. -- ask not what she can do for you but what can you do for her. a lot of it i guess protestant or classmates were really mad at him over that because he plagiarized that. they wanted him to say, "as my head master said." no. that was where it came from. he was a troublemaker in school. he was a rich kid's son and he overcame that and became this democratic popular hero, war hero. when you read in the book about how he saved that crew in the south pacific, swimming for four hours with one of his crewman on his broken back practically, he is a real hero here.

>> a lot of people knew he had struggles with his health but i think you reveal how this was just a constant thorn in his side. >> literally his back. he had to take six shots every day. he was always taking showers. real striking thing. imagine are you a kid in high school and you're told you have leukemia. you don't think you'll make it past high school. had he the last rights in '47, '50 and '51. he faced death all those times and he came through it. we always thought he was this handsome guy here. he had addison's disease. he wore a core set all the time. he had colitis his whole life. >> before i let you go, you are obviously an admirer of kennedy's. is there anything in your research that you found that disappointed you? >> i can't understand why he was thrown for jackie. >> you mean why he cheated on her? >> yeah. she was totally in love with him and love is uneven. love is unfair. and he was on the wrong side of

that one. i just don't get it. i think she said she was going to put up with it. she had a wonderful line a friend told me. she said all these men came down the road and they all wanted jackie bouvier at the time and she was totally in love with this guy. >> a great read especially around the holiday time. >> a gift corfor the kids, a gi for the old man. >> chris matthews, great to see you. coming up next -- turning your dinner on its side. we'll show you how to make a main meal out of side dishes. but first, this is "today"

>> announcer: "today"'s" kitche brought to you by ritz. easy as 1-2-3. turn side dishes into main

courses. host of "sam the cooking guy" has some ideas for transforming the supporting cast and making it the star of the show. sam, good to see you. anybody knows this. 12-time emmy winner. >> 14, but who's counting. >> okay, they said 12 here. you picked up two while we were reading this. you're taking vegetables -- >> we're always taking the main course and making it into something -- steak becomes a steak salad. turkey becomes a turkey sandwich. side dish is sitting there going what about me? i'm just here -- somebody give me some love. roasted vegetables. we've got carrots and onions and peppers. anything. add some olive oil. a little salt. some pepper. some garlic. some dried basil. simple, right? so this is going to start the first night as a side dish. you can mix that. then you're going to dump them on a baking sheet. they're going to go in the oven. about a half-an-hour or so, 350,

400. asparagus are great to add but they go faster. so i just throw these in here, give them the same treatment about half-way through i throw the asparagus on this. why is that funny? oh, i see. so you roast them. they look like this. they're gorgeous. side of a plate and they're beautiful. now we can take and plate these up here. make them nice. bring them to the table. now, second, we'll take these, put them back here or i'm going to get in trouble. then we take them and we dice them up like this. we're going to make a pizza. you can use the roll-up kind yourself on top. beautifully here. we're going to crumble some feta cheese over the top. >> could you use any other cheese you want. >> you could, but why would you? feta is amazing. people who don't like feta? they should. >> they should. >> open your mind to this. then basil oil. drizzle this over the top. boom. just like that. >> boom! >> we're finished. how long? >> takes about 15 minutes or so.

425. lots of heat. get crispy. >> fantastic. >> one more thing. >> here we go. in here i'm heating a little olive oil with some garlic. we're going to add the same vegetables. >> nice medley. >> can you make this ahead of time and use it during the week or not? >> absolutely. why not? they're just vegetables. they'll be fine for few days in the fridge. we'll start to get these hot. we'll add a can of diced come toes. if you want to do the fire-roasted ones, the ones with garlic-basil, it's all yours. make this what you want. we stir, we get it hot. that's it. if you have people coming over at 6:00, do this at 2:00 and just let it sit. flavors will just get better. >> i think we're going to put it on top of this already-cooked pasta. you've got the 14 emmys, not me. >> you're right. but who's counting. we're going to do this. beautiful -- >> sam, you just won two more emmys. you're up to 16. >> congratulations.

hi. >> then a little parmesan cheese on top and a beautiful little basil. >> yum. >> who can't do this? it's time to start thinking easy. five, six ingredients make all of this stuff happen. simple. pizza dough there, pa za here, side dish there. >> when's the next book coming out? >> next year, i think. >> he's got two coming out already. >> good to see you. thank you. coming up, kathie lee and hoda welcome a new member of the ""joy fit club."" >> plus great gifts for just $25 or less. >> after your local news. plus g5 or less. >> after your local news. ♪

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