Dine and Dish

Food blog with family recipes

Top Five Reasons Why You Should Adopt a Blogger

I launched Adopt a Blogger #2 last week. Blogging friends, we have some eager food blogging newbies who need an experienced blogger to adopt them. Thanks to those of you who have already stepped forward. For the rest of you veteran bloggers, here are the top five reasons why I think you should adopt a blogger:

  1. Adoption is cool. If you go the adopt a blogger route, it is much less expensive and you don’t have to travel internationally to pick up your adoptee.
  2. Under most circumstances, your food blogging adoptee will come already potty trained.
  3. How often do you get to completely influence someone without actually worrying about what kind of adult they’ll turn out to be?
  4. Deb from Smitten Kitchen, Lydia from The Perfect Pantry, Holler over at Tinned Tomatoes and Peabody were all adoptive parents last go around (along with a whole slew of wonderful people!). If they have the time to adopt a newbie, you do too!
  5. Oprah Winfrey has a mentor. Michael Phelps has a mentor. Wouldn’t you like to be a mentor too?

Lydia from The Perfect Pantry (who adopted 2 bloggers last time around) had this to say about her Adopt a Blogger experience.

“I just want to tell all the more experienced food bloggers out there that adopting a blogger is a wonderful thing. I’ve adopted two bloggers. The time commitment is only what you can do, and it’s so rewarding to watch your adoptive blogs grow. Please sign up!”

I am not going to beg… at least not yet… but I hope you will consider taking a part of Adopt a Blogger #2. Help a fellow food blogger get their wings and mentor someone today! Sign up by commenting on THIS post.

Just for kicks and grins, here is what we had for dinner tonight. I made some minor adjustments (didn’t have colby jack cheese, so used what we had on hand… cheddar and mozzarella) and I completely changed the tomatillos and chilies to a can of rotelle. I know – nothing like tomatillos and it is probably a bit sacreligious, but it is what I had on hand and it turned out great! This is a very versatile recipe. I hope you enjoy!

Chicken Chilaquiles (from Cooking Light Magazine)

2 cups shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeño peppers, divided
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 (11-ounce) can tomatillos, drained
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375°.

Combine chicken, green onions, 1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese, Parmesan, chili powder, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Place milk and next 3 ingredients (through chiles) in a food processor or blender; process until smooth.

Heat tortillas according to package directions. Pour 1/3 cup tomatillo mixture into bottom of an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 corn tortillas in dish, and top with half of chicken mixture. Repeat layer with remaining tortillas and chicken mixture, ending with tortillas.

Pour remaining 1 1/2 cups tomatillo mixture over tortillas; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Intrigued by tomatillos? Check out what these food bloggers are doing with them:

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  • Two more days to enter the Dine & Dish giveaway for your very own set of Envirosax. Check out the details here.
  • Something I found hilarious, and so very handy. Check out Inn Cuisine’s post on The YouTube Movement Against Chip Clips.
  • Obsessed much? My son is a tad bit obsessed with the Olympics and Michael Phelps. At least my kiddos learned something from watching so much TV! Dishing It Up Family Style is here.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Sandie says

    As one of Lydia’s (The Perfect Pantry) adopted bloggers, I wish all veteran bloggers would offer to adopt a newer blog.

    Here’s why:

    (1) Everyone, even the biggest of the big, could benefit from a mentor, a helping hand, if only to gain a different perspective, get sound advice, have questions answered, bounce around ideas or offer guidance. Experience is the best teacher. Why not offer yours?

    (2)While there will be moments as an adoptive blogger that will require more time input than others, this merely translates to a longer email or perhaps a friendly chat on the phone, whatever you’re willing to do.

    (3) Newer bloggers greatly appreciate your time, helpfulness, experience and wisdom. If you are willing to pay-it-forward now, perhaps they will be willing to pay-it-forward later. Think of this as an opportunity to give back to the community to which we belong, as well as one way to improve our (not so little) corner of the web/blogosphere.

    (4)You may be surprised to learn/gain a little something from your adopted blogger in the process, even if it’s intangible. The course of conversation, the practice of exchanging ideas, is give and take. Rarely will it become a one-way street.

    (5)This is an opportunity to form a relationship with another human being in which you already have something in common—food blogging. While you may or may not become great friends, you will have exchanged a piece of yourselves in the process and I can’t think of a greater return on your investment.

    A side note:

    Lydia offered to adopt my former blog when she had already adopted another. I didn’t have to ask—she offered. Am I ever appreciative she did.

    In the real world, I’m an experienced business writer with a background in advertising, but as a new food blogger, I was struggling with ideas of how to make a food blog work, what I shape I wanted it to take, what information I wanted to convey.

    While Lydia and I blog on different topics, she was able to guide me into making some rough decisions. Ultimately I scrapped my old blog after 3 months to begin a new one, which would become Inn Cuisine. After 7 months, it’s still a work in progress, but at least it has a solid foundation and I love what I’m doing.

    While Lydia doesn’t tell me what to write, or exert her influence to the extreme, she does help me see things in a different light, and helps me to recognize what changes would benefit the site and my posts, how to tighten it all up, and how to be true to my own voice.

    For that, I will always be thankful. Lydia is a true mentor, an experienced food writer/blogger who is able to allow other food writers/bloggers to bring out the best in themselves.

    I know this is a long comment. I apologize for breaking the rules. But please, if you’re an experienced food blogger with a perspective to share, give freely of yourself and your time, and help out a new blogger. It’s a wonderful experience, for everyone involved.

    When my time comes, and I feel I’m ready, I will definitely be signing up to adopt!

    Sandies last blog post..The YouTube Movement Against Chip Clips

  4. Trysha says

    Mmm..I love tomatillos. Roasted in a quesadilla with asadero cheese with sour cream and honey/chipotle/orange dipping sauce on the side. mmmmm….now I’m ready for lunch.

  5. grace says

    boy, am i ever disappointed with the turkey sandwich i brought for lunch. i’d trade it and my firstborn child for a slab of your chilaquiles. 🙂

  6. The Cat's Pajamas says

    I’m glad you’re back to menu planning. I do that every weekend so I only have to go to the grocery once a week. I never end up walking out of the store with what I went into the store with.
    I want to join the adopt-a-blogger thing. I just don’t think I’m the right fit because I’m primarily a military wife who likes to cook. Oh well.
    ~Cat

    The Cat’s Pajamass last blog post..The Results Are In!

  7. flutephobia says

    Hi!
    This is my first time looking at this blog- it’s great! I just have one thing to mention: your chilaquiles look excellent, but I must mention that both green chiles and tomatillos are in season now- and so worth using over canned!

    flutephobias last blog post..Tomato Frenzy

  8. Judith says

    I’d like to do it, and did think about it, but let’s be honest. My blog is what most people would term a failed experiment. I keep doing it because I love it, but people who’ve been doing it a third as long have fifty times as many readers, so I think it would be sort of misleading to put me in the “veteran” category. I wanted to *be* adopted last time and I guess there weren’t enough to go around! Haha. Good luck with the event.

    Judiths last blog post..Yet another grilled cheese

  9. sarah says

    would someone adopt ME? i’m a rookie & would love some friendly advice & encouragement… even constructive criticism… this sounds like fun!

  13. Nicole says

    Hi Kristen,

    I would be happy to adopt a blogger. That being said, I still feel like such a newbie myself and I am not sure I have the experience or the answers needed or desired. Time is a little short. But mainly I just am not sure I have enough knowledge. There is sooooo much I need to learn yet.

    Let me know.

    Nicoles last blog post..The Classic Wedge

  15. Andrea says

    Is it too late for another newbie blogger to sign up? My little blog is less than a month old, but I’m really enjoying the experience and would love to be adopted!

    Andreas last blog post..A Simple Idea

  16. Mandy says

    I just wanted to drop in and see how this project was coming along. Did you get enough experienced bloogers to partner with us newbies?

  19. Deanna Figueroa says

    Chilaquiles can be either red (tomatoes) or green (tomatillos) so either way is actually correct. You can always leave out the milk and add Mexican Crema or sour cream on top of each serving if you want to be more authentic. 🙂

    I lived in Mexico for several years and chilaquiles are one of my signature dishes. Nice adaptation for busy days.

    Nice blog, glad I found it!

Trackbacks

  1. […] since I’ve never had a Mexican hangover. I actually was completely unaware of this dish until seeing it on Dine and Dish, home of the fabulous Adopt-a-Blogger event, in which I have just been adopted by Kitchenparade. […]

  4. […] Chilaquilesfrom Dine and Dish2 cups shredded skinless, boneless chicken breast1/2 cup chopped green onions1/2 cup (2 ounces) […]