I will make up for the delay with...

Pizza! Who doesn't love a good garlic pizza recipe? It is delicious and leaves some room for making it your own.

Ingredients

1 packet of yeast

1 Cup of tepid water

1 Tablespoon of sugar

3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

1/4 Cup oil

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2 3/4-3 Cups of flour

This makes one pizza with eight slices. Comparable to a medium pizza from Domino's.

-Dissolve the yeast in the water and sugar mixture for a few minutes. Mine usually takes around 5. But I like to really let it bubble up.

-Chop your garlic.

-When the yeast has made some bubbles, add your garlic, oil, and salt. Mix together.

-Add flour one cup at a time. I stir mine with a rubber spatula and keep doing so until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl with minimal stirring. Then continue stirring in flour by 1/4 cups until the dough is not sticky to the touch. This is all about watching and feeling. Every time I have made it, it takes a slightly different amount of flour, so use those eyes!

-Let the dough rise once. Punch it down. Then let it rise once more and punch it down again.

-Oil up your pan or pizza stone and stretch the dough by hand first and then on the pan/stone. Then, make a pizza however you would like. We keep it simple with Ragu pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni.

-Bake at 450 for twenty minutes. Again, the time can fluctuate depending on your oven, so watch it carefully.

-Pull out of the oven, cut it up, and enjoy.

Two warnings.

This is how much garlic you are supposed to put in a double recipe. But we like a lot of garlic, so we keep the 3 cloves.

You should be able to use whole wheat flour, but I have not tried. If you do, just play around with how much you will need.

This pizza has become a favorite around the Spieker house on Saturday nights. It looks a bit labor intensive, but the hardest part is chopping the garlic. I can usually have it made in about 15 minutes. Then give the dough a half-hour to rise each time. Stretching the dough takes about five minutes and assembling the pizza is a snap. So don't be discouraged. It's not hard and doesn't require much of your time. Enjoy!

Parmesan Salmon Fish Sticks

Next was a family favorite. I saw this on Giada's show about healthy snacks and we turned it into a meal. That's a kind of meal I like. The fish is a little tricky to cut, but Todd did a great job. Serve them with a side of homemade garlic mashed potatoes and you are in business. We did not make the sauce, but it sounds good to me.

Ingredients

• 1 (18-ounce) center-cut salmon fillet, about 9 by 4 inches, skinned
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• Olive oil, for drizzling

Dipping Sauce

• 1/3 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup lowfat plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or chives

For the Fish Sticks:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Rinse the salmon fillet and pat dry with paper towels. Cut the fish in half to make 2 fillets each about 4 by 4 1/2-inches in size. Starting on the longest edge, slice the fillets into 1/2-inch pieces. Lay the widest pieces, from the center, cut side down, and slice in half lengthways so all the pieces are equally about 1/2 by 1/2 by 4 1/2-inches in size.

Place the flour in a medium bowl and season with the salt and pepper. Place the egg whites in another bowl and beat until frothy, about 30 seconds. Combine the Parmesan and bread crumbs in a third bowl.

Coat the salmon pieces in the seasoned flour and pat to remove any excess flour. Dip the floured salmon in the egg whites and then into the Parmesan mixture, gently pressing the mixture into the fish. Place the breaded salmon pieces on a liberally oiled baking sheet. Drizzle lightly with the olive oil. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.

For the Dipping Sauce:

Mix the mayonnaise, yogurt, Dijon mustard, and parsley (or chives, if using) in a small dipping bowl.

Arrange the fish sticks on a serving platter and serve with the dipping sauce.

Cook's Note: The fish sticks can also be dipped in ketchup, marinara sauce, pesto, ranch dressing or vinaigrette.