I put 4 little snack bags of carrots, 4 pieces of snack celery chopped up, 1 cup of pico de gallo(with cilantro), 1 tablespoon of chicken bouillon, 1 table spoon of chicken bouillon with tomatoe, 2 tablespoons of old bay seasoning. And filled the pot about 3/4 full. I boiled about 15 min. I then added 1 lb of argentina pink shrimp, 2 lbs of large shrimp, and a bag of frozen salad shrimp. I left come back up to a boil and then added 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1 teaspoon of cumin powder. Always taste if salt is on point.