My Free Items for September

I like to keep a list of what I get free, or costing me just a few cents, every month. This is a great reminder to me of how God blesses our family in my efforts in being a true Home Economist. Here is my list for September:

Publix Mystery Coupon Items:
Nilla wafers
6 pk bottled water

Rolling CVS Extracare Bucks:
Cascade dw detergent
4 bottles Tide laundry detergent
Dawn dish detergent
Cottonelle bath tissue
Softsoap Nutri-serums body wash
Johnson's Forever Fresh body wash with free lotion sample attached
Aquafresh Iso-Active toothpaste
Neti Pot sinus wash kit
2 pkgs chocolate covered peanuts
2 tubs Mom's Best oatmeal

Rolling Walgreen's Register Rewards:
Breathe Right strips
Rembrandt toothpaste
Colgate 360 Actflex toothbrush
Carefree 16 count
Sinus Wash refill packets
2 bottles Pepto Bismol
ThermaCare heat wrap
2 Oral B toothbrushes
Ibuprofen
3 tubes Airborne
Herbal Essences shampoo
Softsoap Spa body wash
Emergen-C immunity booster
drain opener
facial tissues on clearance
4 lb honey
2 bags nut crisp things

Great Sale Prices Combined with Coupons Makes Free:
4 bottles A-1 Steak Sauce (10 cents each)
Philly cream cheese
4 small boxes Whitman's Samplers
candy bar
3 Reach floss
4 Glade soy candles
10 lb potatoes
1 qt plain yogurt
1 lb corn meal
2 cans Parmesan cheese
6 cups Yoplait yogurt
2 pkg Ballpark franks
4-pk Activia yogurt
4-pk Danactive yogurt
2.65 lb fresh tomatoes
1.35 lb fresh broccoli
4 lb noodles

Free Deals:
beef jerkey

Given to Me:
homegrown chili peppers, and more, and more
Nilla wafers
pizza

Sunday Dinner

Sunday at noon, we suddenly had more people for dinner than I was expecting. On top of that, our pork roast had shrunk during baking more than I expected. My quick fix:

I used all the side dish ingredients I was already planning to serve but I layered them in a casserole dish. First a layer of mashed potatoes, then the pork roast diced and combined with gravy, cooked carrots, and peas. It all seemed to stretch farther this way, and it was yummy.

The only side dish I didn't stir in was the pear-and-melon salad.

Pickled Peppers

I noticed an abundance of fresh jalapeno peppers in the refrigerator the other day. Wondering about pickling them, I googled and found a recipe. I had enough for 5 pints, plus a few leftover to stay in their fresh state. They have to soak for a week before they will be pickled, and then I'm sure the Professor will enjoy them. I will not.

And then today our neighbor brought over MORE fresh peppers!

Shadowbox

I finally put together a shadowbox of our year in France, a project I've had in mind for several years. The stumbling block was finding a shadowbox of the size and style I like: about 12"x17", and one with a hinged door. Hob Lob came through for me a couple of weeks ago when they had all their shadowboxes 50% off. This one was regularly $30.

I added the little shelves or dividers inside. It was very simple: first I bought a strip of lath at Home Depot, then marked where to make the cuts, and then I asked (and asked!) the guys to cut it for me. That finally happened on Labor Day. I nailed it together, then spray painted it all black to match the frame. Underneath the dividers I added a piece of 12" square scrapbook paper with a script design. The divider piece went in next, then I added all the mementos. Some of them are held in place with blobs of yellow sticky tack.

Here is a list of what I included in my shadowbox, all items I bought in France (beginning in upper left corner): reproduction tin sign, tiny china doll, souvenir pin from Versailles, glass dip pen, miniature metal Eiffel towers, china dish by Limoges, round wood cheese box (we ate the cheese), a souvenir print of Notre Dame, and a third Eiffel tower.

This was very fun to plan and put together; now I'm inspired to make another one using mementos from my childhood.

Plum Cobbler

An abundance of fresh plums, ripening on the kitchen counter, made me think of sweet-tart cobbler. Just the right ending for a supper that might have been a tad too light. I adapted the peach cobbler recipe from my good friend Kathy.