When I was younger, I used to watch Food Network all of the time with my mother. Barefoot Contessa, Bobby Flay, Emril Lagasse – you name it and I have watched it. I always had a fascination with cooking, but never ventured into the kitchen myself to cook because I was always scared of setting my house on fire or burning the food. In a few months, I am going to be starting the Disney College Program where I will be living on my own without access to a college cafeteria, so I decided to buck up and try cooking for the first time – and I did.
How I Decided What To Make
In order to find a recipe that would be quick and easy enough for me to follow since I was cooking for the first time, I went on Google and searched: “quick and healthy recipes in under 20 minutes.” I was not surprised when hundreds of different recipes came up, but a honey garlic shrimp recipe from Sallys Baking Addiction really caught my eye. I am a sucker for anything sweet and savory, and this recipe seemed to have both of those elements.
How I Made It
When I got home from the grocery store with all of the ingredients, I put on the Mean Girls On Broadway soundtrack and started to prepare what I was going to need. I measured:
1/3 cup of honey
1/4 cup of soy sauce ( I used the lite version)
1 tsp of minced ginger
1 tbsp of minced garlic
1lb of medium uncooked shrimp (I had mine cleaned already to save me some time and energy)
2 tsp of olive oil
After I had all of the ingredients laid out on my table, I mixed the in first four ingredients to make the sauce which I then marinated the shrimp in. I put the shrimp in a large Ziplock bag and then put the marinade in it and gave it a good shake. I then tossed it in the refrigerator for a solid hour so the shrimp could soak in some of the flavor.
A few minutes before an hour was up, I came back into the kitchen and made some brown rice and broccoli on the stovetop by boiling hot water and placing the food into the pots for around 10 minutes. I placed a pan next to the other two pots on the stove top and then put the teaspoons of olive oil into it in order to coat it. I put the shrimp into the pan and began to mix it around until all of the pieces were cooked through. After everything was done, I placed each item into a bowl and was ready to try the first meal I ever made in a kitchen.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed cooking a lot more than I thought I would by the time I was finished. I realized that the part that probably knocks some people out is going to the store to get the proper ingredients, but after that is done, then it is really pretty simple to follow a recipe. I liked how I was able to make food that I wanted and see a finished product by the time I was finished. Even though I have relatively bad anxiety about cooking and everything else, I was still able to accomplish this task successfully with a friend near by just incase anything went wrong. I would highly recommend trying to get into the kitchen and see if you like it because you never know what will happen unless you try!