Cooking for me is an incredible solace. When I was in high school, on rough days, I would text my mother, begging her to let me cook dinner that night. This gave me a solid hour or two to myself in the kitchen. When completely involved in the process of cooking, you don't have to focus on anything else. Your mind is absorbed with making sure the meat's fully done, wondering whether or not turmeric will go with rosemary, and sneakily tasting your food. All of these elements together create a sort of magic . No matter what had happened to me that day, the moment I could focus on cooking, the day got better.

This is the first time I've ever written any of my recipes. Aside from an overwhelmingly positive response to my memoir from last week, I had a great many people inquire about my cooking. For many of my friends, especially my casual Facebook friends, my enjoyment of cooking and baking was a complete surprise. For those close to me, it was no surprise at all. Since my junior year of high school, I've been contributing to big meals at family holidays and events, dishes like a Butternut Squash Risotto at Christmas Eve, a Dried Cranberry and Rosemary Brie Bread for New Year's Eve, and a Bacon Rosemary Potato Bake for Thanksgiving. Gradually, I began gaining confidence enough to cook full meals for my family. I cannot remember what the first meal I created for my family was, but I remember most of the better ones (do NOT listen to my sister about the evening of Taco Burgers...we all make mistakes) and have learned from the worse ones.

So, this week for my article, I present one of my favorites recipes and my family's as well:

Crockpot Sweet Chili Shrimp Over Rice with Honey Soy Glaze Snow Peas

Among the many great things about this meal, aside from the quick cooking time, it's also incredibly healthy. One serving (more than enough, I promise) is only around 300 calories, plus you get a lean protein with the shrimp, a serving of vegetables, and a light serving of carbohydrates with this meal. The tang of the shrimp (marinated in lemon juice and olive oil) mixed with the spice and fleeting sweetness of the chili sauce is a filling, but light at the same time. The rice is used to calm the spice and soak up the delicious sauce, as well as the excess marinade from the shrimp. The glazed snow peas are earthy and sweet naturally, this flavor only increased by the addition of honey, but the deliciously salty kick of soy sauce make these sweet snow peas sing with previously unearthed tones of a subtle and appetizing briny flavor. Am I bragging about my own recipe? A little bit, but I really do love writing about food. On with the recipe...

When I tell people that I want to glaze something, they look stressed out. I think years of watching Food Network have scared us all into thinking we can't do anything in the kitchen. Glazing isn't really hard, and actually, in this meal, it's not even at the forefront. In January, I made the decision to take a semester off of school and stay at home. I substitute taught, nannied some precious children, and worked with a community theater, and also cooked a great deal. Immediately following my decision to stay home, my mother started directing a community theater show. My mother, superwoman that she is, also works a time-consuming job and, therefore, had no time at all to make dinner for me and my family. I would start cooking at 4:30pm, giving me enough time to have the dinner left for my family and take dinner to my mom for rehearsal.

I noticed one day that we had SO MUCH SOY SAUCE AND SWEET THAI CHILI SAUCE. We had at least two bottles of each, a ridiculous amount for a family that rarely eats Asian cuisine, let alone knows how to cook it. 4pm rolled around and I went to the freezer to see what we had in the way of proteins. We had chicken thighs (any bone-in meat I find quite intimidating with only short periods of cooking time), sausage, and (praise everything good in the world) SHRIMP! I love shrimp. I really love most kinds of fish, and from a purely culinary standpoint, they're great for speed-cooking because fish only needs about fifteen minutes to marinate. I also love to use the crockpot whenever possible and fish cooks quickly and fully in the crockpot. However, in the method, I've also included an alternative to cooking in a crockpot.

Ingredients: (serves 5)

Crockpot Sweet Chili Shrimp-

1/2 cup of olive oil

1/2 cup of lemon juice

Pinch of salt

1 lb of shrimp (peeled and deveined)

1 bottle of Sweet Thai Chili Sauce (I used a Kroger brand, a 10oz bottle, but I also have found a quick recipe from Food Network if you want to make your own)*

Honey Soy Glazed Snow Peas-

12 oz of snow peas

1/4 cup of honey

1/4 cup of soy sauce

1/4 cup of water

Method:

Set crockpot to the highest setting. If you are cooking this without a crockpot, set your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If the shrimp aren't peeled, use this preheat time to clean them correctly, by this I mean, take off the tail, the shell on the body, and clean out the area underneath the abdominal segments (usually there's a thin line of nastiness in there, you'll want to clean that out). I typically buy frozen shrimp, but often have to clean them anyway (also, I'm paranoid and just do this to calm myself). Create a quick marinade with your olive oil, salt, and lemon juice, toss the shrimp in it making sure all shrimp are equally covered in the marinade. If you're cooking in an oven, marinade in a casserole dish, when it's time to put it in the oven, just use this dish. Set it in a cold place (preferably a fridge), covered in plastic wrap for 15 minutes. The best part of this bit is, aside from adding an incredible tang to your shrimp, the citrus will begin to cook the shrimp, taking off some of the cooking time (this is a seriously quick cook).

Now is the perfect time to start cooking your snow peas. In a small bowl, combine the peas, honey, and soy sauce. Really quick side note here: DO NOT ADD SALT TO THIS. I know you will think I am crazy, but here's the deal: soy sauce is salty enough on its own. Adding salt to this will RUIN this glaze. I'm serious about this. DON'T DO IT. Set an eye of your stove to a low heat and pour the pea/honey/soy sauce mixture into the pan. Cover this with your water and put the lid onto the pan. The water will evaporate, and glaze your peas while cooking them. Check it and stir it occasionally to make sure the glaze isn't burning. When the water is gone, take the peas off the stove and serve.

When your shrimp are done marinating (and while your peas are cooking), take them out of the fridge and put them directly into your crockpot and cover in Sweet Thai Chili Sauce. If you're cooking in an oven, cover with Sweet Thai Chili sauce and place casserole dish in the oven. Set a timer for twenty-five minutes (in either setting) and allow the shrimp to cook. Serve over rice (I like to use the Bird's Eye microwaveable brown rice packages- these cook in less than 5 minutes) and enjoy!

If you try this recipe, please tell me what you think of it!

*I've found a quick recipe for a Sweet Chili Sauce from the Food Network's Tyler Florence if you can't buy one. I've upped the amounts of some ingredients for our purposes, but it's mostly the same as his:

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons of fish sauce

1/3 cup of hot water

1/3 cup of lime juice

2 1/2 tablespoons of sugar

2 tsp of minced garlic

2 tsp of red chili paste

**I also like to add a pinch of red chili flakes (this adds a touch of heat, but is also exceedingly aesthetically pleasing)***

Method:

Puree these ingredients in a blender until they are fully combined and use as needed in the recipe.