Blog Party Woo Hoo

We are rolling out a new layout for the blog party! Please let us now what you think.

Hiya! I am Danielle aka. Thirty Minute Mommy. Welcome to the New Mommy Rant. I started this blog because I am a golf widow. I needed something to fill the time when my husband (Peter) was at the course. He suggested blogging and it took off from there. Now, I am a full blown addict. What will you find here? - Lots and lots of pictures, book reviews, recipes, product reviews, and hopefully a lot of laughs. I am the mom of a beautiful 5 ½ month old girl named Eliza. I am also a Kindergarten teacher. Put it all together and what do you get- one craaazy momma.

Here is my pic. Take a long hard look. Burn the image into your memory because it is probably the only time you will ever see me with my hair done. Also, Chewbacca called and wanted his eyebrows back so I finally had them waxed. I had to grow them out after the wax lady gave me the Lil Bow Wow look.

They just don't make wine glasses big enough for new mommies! Cheers! Let's get this party started!

AND NOW MY BLOGGY PARTNER!

I am Heather aka. Future Mom. I was a faithful reader of New Mommy Rant ever since Danielle started it. I have always been to into baby products, parenting books, and basically everything baby for as long as I can remember. The only issue so far seems to be that we aren't really ready for a baby at this point. Let me rephrase that statement...I have been ready for years but hubby left his job to go back to school and thinks that it's a bad time to add to the family.

So since he is in school full time and working part time, I am home alone and bored a lot. I guess I have a lot of knowledge about kids for someone who doesn't have any...so Danielle thought I should get on the blog bandwagon and start my own. Honestly I don't know if that would have been very good because I can't get as much content as she can since she has an actual child. So I came on board here and I am loving it.

What you can look forward to from me: random stories about my pseudo-children (my niece and nephew), polls looking for reader input on various situations, and summaries of books I read and would like to pass on to you. Also I might decide to write my thoughts on TV shows about babies, articles about babies, products for babies...I think you get the gist of where this is going. Anything baby is right up my alley!

Aside from spending time blogging, I am a graphic designer for a living and also have a side business of designing invitations.

Here are two of our favorite recipes!

Chickpea Tacos

from Danielle
1 medium onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 celery stalk- chopped

1 medium green bell pepper- chopped

3/4 packet of Taco Seasoning Mix- Your Favorite

15-ounce can chickpeas, drained

Salsa- to taste- about 5 tablespoons

Burrito or Taco Shells

Heat oil in a pan. Toss in onion, celery, and green pepper and cook until softened. Add chickpeas, salsa, and taco seasoning mix. Cook until warmed. Use an old fashioned potato masher to mush it up a little. Fill em up and top with your favorite taco toppings, YUMM-O



Slow Cooker Pot Roast

from Heather

what you need: slow cooker, slow cooker liner bag (optional for less cleanup), skillet or large frying pan, tongs

ingredients:

boneless chuck roast (2-3 lbs)

vegetable oil

garlic powder

black pepper

1 onion (medium size)

3 bay leaves

4 beef boullion cubes (crushed)

2 garlic cloves (crushed)

1 can Campbell's Golden Mushroom condensed soup 10 3/4 oz (if you can't find this one regular cream of mushroom works too)

1 can whole white potatoes1

lb. bag carrots

water

Sprinkle meat on all sides with garlic powder and black pepper (to taste). Heat up a skillet and pour in some oil so that you can sear all of the sides until brown. Then take it out with tongs and place in the slow cooker. Slice the onions and place them in a layer on top of the meat. Peel the carrots and cut them into halves or thirds and put them on top of the onions. Drain the can of potatoes and put them in whole or cut in half. Next add the bay leaves, crushed boullion cubes and crushed garlic. Pour in the whole can of condensed soup and then add enough water so that everything is covered.

Cook on low setting for 8 hours.