Episode 28: Root Beer Floats

I love root beer floats so much! In fact, this was one of my main birthday requests. (Oh yea, I'm 7 now!!) They're fun to make and you don't really need any grown-up help. It's even better if the grown-ups stay far away so you can keep filling your glass.

This recipe is really easy. All you need is really good vanilla ice cream, really good root beer, and a couple of frosty glasses. We put ours in the freezer for a couple hours and they were perfect. Scoop in your ice cream, pour your root beer over the top and then enjoy the foamy goodness!

Episode 27: Sweet Potato Fries

In the spring we planted sweet potato slips and watched them grow and grow all summer. In the fall we finally got to harvest them. My brother and I loved digging out potatoes. My brother liked digging them more than eating them, but I think they are super yummy. We cooked them two different ways: Salty fries and sweet with butter and sugar. In this episode I will show you how to make them salty. What a great after-school snack!We kept the recipe simple: Sweet potatoes, olive oil & salt. Coat the potatoes and throw them in a 400 degree oven until baked crispy. You can also add pepper, red pepper sauce or any other spice you like for kick.

Episode 26: Eggs Tacos

I love cooking from scratch and I really love knowing where my food comes from. These days all the eggs I eat come from chickens that live just 2 miles away: Gram's chickens! These eggs are the yummiest, freshest eggs I can get my hands on. I think the best way to enjoy the flavor is to cook them up in the cast iron pan and then wrap them in a tortilla. Enjoy the show!

Episode 25: Heart-Shaped Pizza

My friend Celty helped me make pizza dough and heart-shaped pizzas in this show. At my house we eat pizza every Friday night so it's nice to have a whole pile of little pizza crusts ready to go in the freezer. The dough can be made and used immediately or frozen in little flat circle or heart shapes for quick cooking anytime!

This dough is super easy to make because it requires very little kneading and only one hour to rise.

Pizza Dough Recipe

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups warm (115 degrees) water
2 packets ( ounce each) active dry yeast
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for bowl
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for kneading
2 cups whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)

Directions
1. Place water in a large bowl; sprinkle with yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Brush another large bowl with oil.

2. In bowl with yeast, whisk sugar, oil, and salt. Stir in flours with a wooden spoon until a sticky dough forms. Transfer to oiled bowl; brush top of dough with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let stand in a warm spot until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

3. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface. With floured hands, knead until smooth, about 15 seconds; divide into two balls.

4. Set balls on a plate (they should not touch); freeze until firm, about 1 hour. Then freeze in a freezer bag up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in refrigerator.

5. Divide each ball of dough into 4 pieces. Using your hands, stretch each piece into a 5-inch disk (if dough becomes too elastic to work with, let it rest a few minutes). Freeze shells on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Stack frozen shells between layers of parchment paper. Freeze in a freezer bag up to 3 months. Bake from frozen.

Episode 24: Peanut Butter

This show stars my little brother, Clifford. He likes to crack peanuts with a wooden hammer my mom keeps in the kitchen drawer. It's really messy, but it keeps him busy for a long time. This is my favorite kind of peanut butter ... fresh and sweetened with honey. It's also super simple to make with any nuts you have on hand. Enjoy ... and thanks for watching The Retta Show!

Episode 23: Cranberry Salad

This recipe is one of my favorite things to eat at the Thanksgiving table. I love fresh cranberries. Especially when they're mixed with marshmallows and pineapple and whipped cream! (I made this with my Gram!)

Episode 22: Pineapple