April 14, 2024 | Awake & Dreaming

To be honest the cons aren’t really cons if you enjoy blogging but these seem to be the ones that most people will agree on :

1. Regular Blogging Takes Time

Blogging takes a lot more time than you think it does. Each post takes some to a lot of research to make sure your information is accurate. It’s one thing starting up a blog to write your thoughts, but quite another to get these thoughts together in a form that can be published for others to read. You must get your posts out on a regular schedule. Ideally you should plan ahead, and have a few posts in the pipeline ready to publish while you research more.

2. Finding Topics to Write About

If you want to make it as a professional blogger, you must be able to find unique content. It need not be a unique topic, but should at least be a different take on an old subject. Provide an alternative viewpoint to what others are writing online, and gather together your own readers rather than try to steal those from other blogs. What are you writing about? If you want a following then you must tackle a consistent theme, whether that is SEO and blogging, cat training or how to make the best mud cakes in the world!

3. No Magic Bullet

Blogging is no magic bullet that draws cash like iron filings to a magnet. You can start-up and work for weeks and make nothing, but you are attracting a readership. Professional blogging does not offer a guaranteed income – so don’t pack in the day job until you are making enough to feed yourself, look after your family and pay all the bills. This can take time.

4. No Guarantees of Readers

You are not guaranteed readers. For people to read your blog they must first find it. That is a skill in itself, but there is lot you can do to get your blog noticed. Learn the basics of search engine optimization (SEO) but don’t lose sleep over it- a good blog will eventually be noticed. Try to be unique and you will have a better chance of success. Use social media for free advertising. Setting up a Facebook business page, tweeting posts and using Instagram as well as Pinterest to spread the news.

5. Blog Spam

If you allow comments then expect a large amount of blog spam. Many people use software to create generic comments and distribute them to as many blogs as the software can find. They usually take the form of a generic comment along the lines of “Great blog – You have written well on this topic and I recommend you to anybody.” If a comment does not refer directly to the content of your post then it is almost certainly spam. These comments can come in their hundreds, and Google will possibly punish your ranking unless you remove them.

Make sure you set your comments to require approval before being published, or your readers will take a dim view of you allowing all this spam and likely go elsewhere. Even if you do delete them, it can give you a great deal of unnecessary work. Make sure you have a spam filter activated – but even then you should check your comments every day. You might be lucky, but it can take up to 10-15 minutes each day to delete all the blog spam you are sure to get.

German pork schnitzel is an easy recipe and it’s perfect for busy weeknights. The pork chops are pounded into thin, tender cutlets which are breaded and sautéed, resulting in a crispy crust and juicy center. Most people will squeeze a lemon over them.

Ingredients for Pork Schnitzel:

2 lbs boneless pork chops
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp garlic salt (or sub with equal parts salt and garlic powder)
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
3 large eggs
2 cups panko bread crumbs
Olive oil, canola oil or any high heat cooking oil to saute
Lemon wedges to serv

STEPS TO PREPARE

1. Trim pork chops of fat and slice into 1/2?-thick cutlets (use large sized pork chops). Line a cutting board with plastic wrap, place cutlets in a single layer on cutting board and cover with plastic wrap (this prevents splatter). Pound cutlets with a meat mallet or the back of a heavy saucepan, until 1/4? to 1/8? thick.

2. Set up three bowls. In the first combine 1/3 cup flour, 1 Tbsp garlic salt, 1/2 tsp paprika and 1/2 tsp pepper. In the second, use a fork to beat 3 eggs. In the third bowl, add 2 cups panko crumbs.

3. Dredge both sides of each pounded cutlet in flour then dip in beaten egg letting excess egg drip back into the bowl before breading in panko crumbs. It helps to use a fork for the dipping process to keep your hands clean. Repeat with remaining cutlets.

4. Once all cutlets are breaded, heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat and add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Once oil is hot, add breaded cutlets a few at a time and sauté 3-4 minutes per side or until cooked through. Reduce heat if cutlets are browning too quickly. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Cut into one to double check doneness – juices should run clear. Serve right away with lemon wedges, or ranch for the children ;).