wardrobe try two - another fail

So yesterday we were near the mall and decided to try there for Darly's fall wardrobe.

We went to lunch first and then headed over to JCPenney.  Part one of our problem is that I wanted to use my creative financing plan on this and did not have a gift card with me (didn't know how much of a card I would need!)  So we were just looking.

We did find things that fit and were acceptable (although no real winter clothing).  So my plan was to write down everything that we liked and then order them online using the gift card.

The problem is virtually NOTHING that we found in the store was available online!!!  See JCPenney has a creative financing thing of their own and where you used to be able to find everything that they sold online as they could just pull stock from a store if needed, they don't do that anymore.  What's in the store is what you get and what's online is all you can get.  They don't backorder, they don't restock.  You can't really call it catalog ordering anymore.  :p

So now I have to drive all the way back to the store as Darly really wants the cute owl shirt we found.

Sigh!  But at least we'll have the gift card with us.

clothing frustrations...I'm naming names!

So yesterday I took Darly shopping for her fall wardrobe because she refuses to quit growing and her clothes from last year aren't fitting.  sigh!

We looked at Target a little, but honestly the quality there is too cheap for the price they're asking.  And we didn't see anything that we liked.

So we went to Kohls.  And here is where things got interesting...

Darly currently has some Mudd girls size 14 jeans that fit in the waist but the length is a bit short on her.  So she tried on some size 16s.  I grabbed two skinny jeans and two flair jeans.  (unfortunately the two skinny jeans were the exact same pair...oops!)
I also grabbed a pair of SO jeans in size 16...I believe that they were bootcut.
And while looking in the Junior dept we picked out a few pair of Mudd Jeans in size 1.

Mudd 16 skinny - fit in the waist, too tight in the thighs, the length was very long and she didn't like the coloring on these (they had the bleached in distress marks)
Mudd 16 flair - were way too big in the waist...and even though they have adjustable waists, what 14y/o wants that???  oh and the length was too long.

SO 16 boot cut were just too big everywhere...we could pull those right off while zipped.

The Junior sized jeans were too tight and too low.  I'm not putting my 14y/o in super low rise jeans.  They are stupid, jeans are supposed to cover the entire bottom and underware.

So she tried on the Mudd 14 flair... um fit in the waist, but the length was too short.  grrr

Sales lady suggested that we try Levis.  I don't like the price on Levis, but we tried.  and even though we were in the 7-16 section, these were super low rise also.  I refuse to pay extra for less pant.

So sadly Darly did not get any new jeans.  We also struck out on shirts as the ones she picked out were itchy due to the cute silver threads in the material...soft on the outside, itchy inside.  Ummm Nope!

I sure miss the days when each size was the same, but now it isn't even the same with the same maker.

Some creative financing...

Normally I just pay for everything using my cashback credit card and am fine with that.

However if I buy gift cards at my grocery store, I can earn more fuel points (=cheaper gas)

I have gift card that gives me 5% cash back when I use it.

so I use the cashback credit card to put money on the 5% gift card that I can use to buy other gift cards to earn more fuel points.

Confusing, I know.  But it is saving me money.

Pizzagna

I cudda sworn that this recipe was already on my blog, but I couldn't find it...so here it is...again if you've already seen it.

16 oz cooked large egg noodles (or if you're fancy use one of those other noodles that will grab a lot of the sauce)
2 jars of your favorite pizza sauce (sorry I don't remember how many ounces that is...if you make your own pizza sauce it's about 4 cups or so, I think)
8oz LARGE curd cottage cheese (you could use small curd or ricotta cheese if you like...we like the large)
any pizza toppings you like (we like pepperoni & canadian bacon cut up)
mozzarella cheese to sprinkle on top

cook up your noodles and drain them

In that same pot heat up your pizza sauce with the toppings and the cottage cheese.  Add the noodles back in and stir well to mix.  Serve with the mozzarella cheese to sprinkle on top.

This recipe is modified from one I saw on Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals...but she makes her own sauce and uses ricotta cheese.

chicken & noodles

a family favorite

2 chicken breasts cut up
chicken seasonings (whatever your family likes)
cup of water mixed with 1 tsp chicken bouillon

cooked noodles (I use about 5 good sized handfuls)

frozen peas (I tossed them in with the noodles about 3 min before they were due to be done)

cut your raw chicken into bite sized pieces and season.  Allow this it sit for a bit while your pan is heating up.
Spray a frying pan with spray oil and heat over high heat.  Add in the chicken to the pan and let it brown a bit.  Stir to turn the chicken over and get as much browing as possible.  add in 1/2 the chicken bouillon liquid and cover to steam the chicken until it is done...then let as much of the liquid evaporate out as possible...I let the pan get completely dry.

Mix the chicken with the noodles and peas in the pot you cooked the noodles in...add the remaining chicken liquid to the frying pan to loosen up the dried on seasonings and then add that to the chicken & noodles.  Mix well and serve!

This is also really good with some chicken gravy, but my daughter doesn't like gravy.  :( 

beef tortilla soup

I just sort of made this up as I went and it turned out really well...

1 lb ground beef
1TBSP onion powder or 1/2 chopped onion (I have to use the powder because of the pickies!)
1 15oz (are they still 15oz?) can of pinto beans
1 can (I don't know what size it was...way smaller than other cans) Tomatoes w/ green chilis (like Rotel)
1 can (a bit larger that the "Rotel" can) diced stewed tomatoes
20 oz chicken broth  (since I had so much broth I drained the tomatoes, but if you're using canned, put in the liquid from your tomatoes also)
aprox 3 oz tomato paste (I had some left-over in the freezer...this is optional)
2 tsp cumin
salt & pepper to taste

brown the gr beef with chopped onions if you're using them and drain (if you're using onion powder add it in later as you don't want all your onion to go down the drain!)
add in your seasonings, tomatoes & beans.
Let simmer

I served this with rice, cheddar jack cheese & tortilla chips.  Hubby picked out the tomatoes.
This would also be good with carrots, corn, peppers and squash if you have it.  Just toss them in and let it simmer until the veggies are cooked.

Chicken & rice recipe

I haven't had a lot to say here, so I thought that I would share some of the recipes that have worked for my picky family...

I needed a quick and easy recipe for dinner the other night (as I had forgotten to thaw anything out) so I ran to the store and picked up a rotisserie cooked chicken.

I ripped half the chicken off the bones (saved the bones for broth later in the freezer) and cut up the meat into bite sized pieces.

I cooked 4 cups of rice in chicken bouillon* in my rice cooker.

Then I just mixed the two.  I served it with cooked frozen veggies on the side.

The next day to mix it up a bit, I "whipped" up a batch of gravy...
2TBSP butter
2TBSP corn starch
chicken bouillon, water, salt & pepper

and poured that over the left-over chicken & rice.

Both dishes were a hit here.

*note: you could easily use chicken broth or stock.  I just didn't have any at the time...but I will soon as I have that carcass in the freezer.