Nom Nom :)

One thing I love about StumbleUpon is all of the delicious recipes you can find on it There is everything from how to make homemade ice cream to how to cook an entire four course meal, and everything in between! I have always loved to cook and I'm always interested in finding new recipes to try for my friends and family. My favorite recipe I've found yet is for how to make "Bang Bang Shrimp", like the dish they serve at Bonefish. This dish is one of my favorite things to order when I eat out, so finding a recipe on how to make it was so exciting! I was skeptical at first on how close the shrimp would taste to the dish served at the restaurant, but I was pleasantly surprised that it turned out delicious! It did take a while to deep fry the shrimp, but it was SO worth it in the end :) This recipe isn't for novice "chefs", but once you figure it out it's a lot easier the second time! This is a recipe that I will definitely be saving for later use, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves Bonefish's "Bang Bang Shrimp" and a challenge!

Bang Bang Shrimp

4.9 from 16 reviews

Yield: 2 – 4 as appetizer

Ingredients

• 1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• For the sauce:
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 4-5 teaspoons chili garlic sauce, such as Sriracha sauce
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• For the egg mixture:
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• For the breading mixture:
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• For frying:
• 8 to 12 cups vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl; cover and set aside.
2. Combine beaten egg with milk in shallow bowl; set aside.
3. Combine flour, panko, salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and basil in another shallow bowl; set aside.
4. Bread the shrimp by first coating each with the breading mixture. Dip breaded shrimp into the egg and milk mixture, and then back into the breading. Arrange the coated shrimp on a plate and pop them into the fridge for at least 20 minutes. This step will help the breading to stick on the shrimp when they are frying.
5. Heat oil in deep fryer to 350 degrees F. Use amount of oil required by your fryer.
6. When oil is hot, fry shrimp 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on rack or paper towels.
7. When all shrimp has been fried, drop the shrimp into a large bowl. Spoon about 1/4 cup of sauce over shrimp and stir gently to coat.

Werid....

       Today I "Stumbled Upon" a fascinating piece of information. A study was done at Cambridge University that proves that the human brain doesn't read every letter of a word by itself. As long as the first and last letters in the word remain the same you are able to read without a problem. I challenged my roommates to take the reading test, and we even we even made a game out of it to see who could read it the fastest! I also tried to test the study by taking a word and mixing it up every way possible to see if it could still be read, and I beat it! For instance, the word "American" can be rearranged the following ways: Aercmian, Aciamern, Arcieamn, etc. I asked my roommates again to figure out what the mixed up word was, and only one could figure it out within a few seconds! Then, I inserted the word into a sentence to see if it was easier to figure out. I wrote the sentence, "Eh bmceae a mbeemr fo the Arcieamn mlairity", and asked some other friends to decipher the code and no one could figure it out!
     
 The second thing I found on StumbleUpon today was an adorable Valentines Day card written by a student for his teacher. I thought this would be appropriate to blog about because yesterday was Valentine's Day! This year, I spent the majority of my Valentine's Day either in class or studying. I had a big physiology exam today so I spent 4 hours studying- how romantic! What made my Valentine's Day really special this year was the person I got to call my "valentine", my boyfriend Nick. We didn't get to spend much time together (except for the history class we have together!) but it was still my best Valentine's Day yet :) We exchanged gifts the night before since we didn't get out of class until 9pm, and I absolutely LOVED my gifts! My favorite gift was a complete surprise- a gorgeous purse that Nick had picked out ALL BY HIMSELF! I was so proud :)

My very first blog EVER :)

Hi. My name is Emily and this is the first blog I've ever had a blog before. First, here's a little info about me: My full name is Emily Marie Hilgartner and I am a sophomore nursing major at Stevenson University. I have been a member of universities cheerleading team for the past two years, but in high school I played volleyball, basketball, and ran track. I have twin sisters named Hope and Hannah who are 15 years old, and a brother named Josh who is 30. My goal in life is to one day become a nurse practitioner or midwife, and work in the Labor and Delivery unit at Johns Hopkins.

Like I said, I've never done this before so I was stumped on what I should blog about. When choosing a topic for my blog I tried to think of something I do or see on a daily basis. As a college student, much of my time is spent either in class or in the library, so that didn't leave much to write about. As I sat and pondered possible topics my mind began to wander and I found myself doing what I always do to pass time- stumbling. Stumbling isn't as dangerous or clumsy as it sounds, its exploring new websites based on my particular interest on a website called "StumbleUpon". Ever since I discovered StumbleUpon about a year ago I've been addicted- if I'm on my computer, there's a good chance I'm stumbling! I love this website because it's personalized to my interests, and opens me up to new websites and information I never knew existed. My friends make fun of me because I always start of my sentences, "So I was on StumbleUpon,.....", but I find so many interesting things each day it's hard not to share!

Today, the website that interested me the most was actually the very first website I stumbled upon. The website features information entitled, "The Medical Benefits of Being Addicted to Coffee". This instantly got my attention because I am a nursing major, as well as a coffee addict. I typically drink about 2-3 cups a day, so it was interesting to see positive effects that come from my addiction. Apparently, drinking coffee can reduce your chances of developing problems like Type 2 diabetes, prostate cancer, stroke, Alzheimer's, and heart disease!