I'm a big fan of cooking that doesn't take a lot of work, and I'm guessing you're the same. Remember when I told you about roasted tomatoes? Well, this is the exact same concept with different flavors. Cut up some stuff, stir it together in a bowl, pour it on a baking sheet, stick it in the oven, and walk away. And I've cooked this for parties for the young and old alike, and it's always a huge hit. This'll be a go-to recipe for you.

• two cans of tomatoes (I use one crushed and one diced for the texture)
• one small red onion diced
• two large and one small chili peppers diced (I use a pablano, an anaheim, and a jalapeno usually. This time I got an orange pepper that looked cool at the Super G. Not sure what it's called. Oh well...)
• a good amount of salt and black pepper
• a small palmful of cumin (about a teaspoon)
• half as much garlic powder (about half a teaspoon)

A quick note on chili peppers. If you don't know much about the different kinds (which is totally cool), remember this. Generally speaking, the bigger the pepper, the milder in flavor. Don't worry about buying a pepper and making your salsa hot enough to blow up your tongue. Just get two larger ones (usually not terribly hot) and one small one which is where most of your heat comes from. And if you leave out the seeds and the white part (called the ribs) which I do, you'll save yourself from heat grief that way, too. Just don't touch your eyes after you cut the peppers. It hurts. Bad. Okay, back to the recipe.

Mix everything together in a bowl. Pour it into a large baking sheet or dish lined with foil to make clean-up easier. Bake it at 300 degrees for about two hours. Stir it once or twice through cooking. It's SUPER healthy and so versatile. Eat like regular salsa with chips or veggies. Use it in burritos or tacos, in scrambled eggs, the "sauce" for Mexican lasagna, over grilled meats... the possibilities are endless. One of my favorite ways is over cheesy polenta and grilled pork chops. Tasty.

My husband thanks you. Why? Because my desire to give you all a recipe forced me to actually cook dinner tonight from the random ingredients in my fridge rather than relying on a spaghetti standby. And while I'm the president of the Spaghetti Lovers Club, here's something a little more sprucy.

The three main components of this dish are the pesto, the meatballs, and the pasta. Do the whole thing or a variation, but here's what we inhaled at our dinner table on our couch having wonderful conversation watching the news Sportscenter.

Artichoke Pesto Pasta

For the pesto, blend the following in a food processor or blender:

• half a can of quartered artichokes in water with the liquid drained off
• a couple of handfuls of frozen spinach, thawed and drained
• a small handful of pinenuts, about 1/4 cup
• a handful of fresh basil and parsley (mostly basil)
• a dozen turns around the bowl of extra virgin olive oil
• a couple good pinches of salt and pepper
• a good handful of grated Parmesan cheese

Blend it until it's the consistency you want. I like my pesto a little thick.

For the meatballs, don't feel like you have to make your own. I just had some ground turkey I needed to use and a free half hour. My basic recipe is half a pound of ground turkey (or pork or beef or a combination), one egg, a couple of handfuls of Italian bread crumbs, and salt and pepper.

Whisk your egg first so you don't have to work the meat too much. Because what happens if you overmix the meat in the glass mixing bowl you got at the dollar store for a dollar? Yep. Tough meatballs. Bummer. Roll them into little balls, about the size of a grape. These are actually really good to feed kids - the perfect size. And if your kids are old enough to not lick their covered-in-raw-meat fingers, give them this job.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and give it a good dose of extra virgin olive oil. Yeah, it's so the meatballs don't stick, but it's even more for flavor. Can you tell I'm enjoying my new camera?!

Then put the meatballs in the hot pan, spaced apart so the air gets around every piece and they cook evenly. And remember... DON'T TOUCH. Let the meat cook for a couple of minutes before you flip them. Drain the cooked meatballs on some papertowels until you're ready to serve them.

I cook some whole wheat penne in well salted water, and in the same skillet over LOW heat, I toss the cooked pasta (barely drained since I want some of the moisture to keep the dish together), some artichoke pesto, the meatballs, a little extra salt and pepper if it needs it, and an extra drizzle of olive oil. After we ate it, we both thought it would be over the top with some lemon zest mixed in at the end, too.

And the good news? Both the pesto and cooked meatballs can be frozen for another day. Awesome, right?

Yes, it's true. For the past couple of years, I've had one of these almost every single day. Once I found my favorite combination, I stuck to it. I'm sort of a creature of habit. Vitamins in the fruit and calcium in the yogurt and milk help my 70 year-old bones. Seriously. When I was 18, a doctor told me I had the hip and knee joints of a 70 year-old woman. Yeeeaaahhh. Awesome. So despite Sally Field's reminder, I forget to take my calcium, but I never forget my smoothie. Maybe I should take my calcium when I have my smoothie... interesting.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

• one banana
• five frozen strawberries
• one big spoonful of Splenda
• one big spoonful of ground flaxseed (Dr. Oz would be so proud)
• two big spoonfuls of nonfat plain yogurt
• enough skim milk to fill it up a third of the way

I use a Magic Bullet (a fab gift from my sister), so I put the strawberries in last so they're close to the blade. If you're using a regular blender, put the berries in first since the blade is on the bottom.

Enjoy your smoothie! Have fun with the recipe, but this one works for me. In fact, it's working for me right now. Slurp...