Readers are placing their bets for how much the BJ’s recipe below for lemon-chicken bowtie pasta costs. I’ve shared one clue – it’s less than $12.
Whoever comes closest to guessing without going over (like the Price is Right) wins a one-year membership to BJs, a warehouse club with 187 locations in 15 states. Membership to BJ’s costs $45. If multiple readers guess correctly the prize goes to whoever answered first.
So far readers have guessed as low as $2.73 and as high as $9.73. Your guess should be for the cost of the entire recipe, which makes four servings, not the price per serving.
The contest ends Monday at 11:59 p.m. PST and the winner will be announced Tuesday. Leave your answer as a comment on this post, on my Facebook page, or on Twitter. One guess per email, please.
Lemon-Chicken Bowtie Pasta, serves 4 at ??? price
8 oz. Barilla® Farfalle
4 Perdue® Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (1¼ lb.)
5 Green Onions, sliced
1 clove Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. Wesson® Canola Oil
1/ 8 tsp. McCormick® Cayenne Pepper
1½ cups Progresso® Chicken Broth
2 tsp. Grey Poupon® Dijon Mustard
¼ cup fresh Lemon Juice
White Sauce (see below)
1. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside. 2. Cut chicken into ¾” pieces. Set aside. Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add green onions and garlic and sauté one minute. 3. Add chicken and sauté, turning chicken occasionally until cooked through, about 12 to 15 minutes. 4. Add pasta, toss and set aside. 5. Adapt Basic White Sauce recipe (see previous page): mix cayenne pepper into flour before adding. Reduce milk by 1½ cups, substituting same amount of chicken broth. Add chicken broth-milk mix to fl our mix per recipe instructions. 6. While sauce is still hot, whisk in mustard and lemon juice, then immediately pour over chicken-pasta mixture; lightly toss to mix. 7. Garnish with sliced lemon and serve immediately.
BASIC WHITE SAUCE Makes 2 cups. Your microwave’s cooking times may vary. Please watch carefully.
4 Tbsp. Land O’Lakes® Sweet Butter
4 Tbsp. Gold Medal® All-Purpose Flour
2 cups Milk
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
1. Melt butter on high in 1-qt., microwave-safe
bowl, about 20 to 30 seconds. 2. Stir in flour, using spoon to break up lumps, until smoothly blended. 3. Add milk, salt and pepper and stir until completely blended. 4. Microwave on high, pausing to stir every 30 seconds or so, until sauce is thick and bubbly, about 1 to 2 minutes. Variation: Add 2 cups of shredded Cracker Barrel® Sharp Cheddar Cheese and toss with cooked elbow macaroni for mac and cheese.
Speaking of buying groceries on a budget, here are seven recipes that serve four people for less than $12 per dish courtesy of BJ’s, a warehouse club on the East Coast. (If you are not near a BJ’s, check out my tips for getting Costco deals without paying for the membership.)
Guess how much each the recipe for Lemon-Chicken Bowtie Pasta costs and the person who comes closest will win a free one-year membership to BJs, valued at $45. Leave your answer as a comment on this post, on my Facebook page, or on Twitter. One guess per email, please.
The giveaway will work a bit like “The Price Is Right.” The reader whose guess comes closest to the amount without going over wins. If multiple readers guess correctly the prize goes to whoever answered first.
BJ’s has 187 locations in 15 states. Find a BJ’s near you.
Lemon-Chicken Bowtie Pasta, serves 4 at ??? price – guess for a chance to win a $45 BJ’s membership
8 oz. Barilla® Farfalle
4 Perdue® Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (1¼ lb.)
5 Green Onions, sliced
1 clove Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. Wesson® Canola Oil
1/ 8 tsp. McCormick® Cayenne Pepper
1½ cups Progresso® Chicken Broth
2 tsp. Grey Poupon® Dijon Mustard
¼ cup fresh Lemon Juice
White Sauce (see below)
1. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside. 2. Cut chicken
into ¾” pieces. Set aside. Heat oil in large skillet over medium high
heat. Add green onions and garlic and sauté one minute.
3. Add chicken and sauté, turning chicken occasionally until
cooked through, about 12 to 15 minutes. 4. Add pasta, toss
and set aside. 5. Adapt Basic White Sauce recipe (see previous
page): mix cayenne pepper into flour before adding. Reduce
milk by 1½ cups, substituting same amount of chicken broth.
Add chicken broth-milk mix to fl our mix per recipe instructions.
6. While sauce is still hot, whisk in mustard and lemon juice,
then immediately pour over chicken-pasta mixture; lightly toss
to mix. 7. Garnish with sliced lemon and serve immediately.
BASIC WHITE SAUCE Makes 2 cups.
Your microwave’s cooking times may vary.
Please watch carefully.
4 Tbsp. Land O’Lakes® Sweet Butter
4 Tbsp. Gold Medal® All-Purpose Flour
2 cups Milk
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
1. Melt butter on high in 1-qt., microwave-safe
bowl, about 20 to 30 seconds. 2. Stir in fl our,
using spoon to break up lumps, until smoothly
blended. 3. Add milk, salt and pepper and stir
until completely blended. 4. Microwave on high,
pausing to stir every 30 seconds or so, until sauce
is thick and bubbly, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Variation: Add 2 cups of shredded Cracker Barrel®
Sharp Cheddar Cheese and toss with cooked elbow
macaroni for mac and cheese. See pasta recipes
for more variations.
For six more recipes that feed four for less than $12, keep reading.
I’m a finalist in the Plutus Awards in the Best Deals and Bargains Blog category. Please vote for me!
I’m up against stiff competition. The other finalists are Bargain Briana, Deal Seeking Mom, Keeping the Kingdom First, and Wise Bread. Wow!
The contest is run by a personal finance blogger named Flexo. To vote you’ll need to share your name and email, then scroll down until you find the Best Deals and Bargain category (it’s pretty far down). Then vote for your favorite blog!
Amazon.com
Reader Katie wins my review copy of Life or Debt 2010: A New Path to Financial Freedom, which I wrote about earlier this week, for her comment:
I would love to read this book! Hubby and I are reccent college graduates and want to pay off our student loans/live debt free as quickly as possible but could sure use direction!
With early guidance I hope Katie and her husband live debt-free! If you didn’t win, Amazon has paperback copies of Life or Debt 2010 for $8.50 (orig. $15). And remember to try your library!
I 
mailed the last of the BargainBabe.com 1-year anniversary giveaway prizes yesterday! I must have mailed two dozen packages, envelopes, and cards yesterday.
If you missed the list of winners and want to check if your name is on it, go here to see the winners from Day 1-4 or go here to see the grand prize winners from Day 5.
If you received an email from me notifying you of your winnings, check your mail for the next week. Thanks to everyone for reading BargainBabe.com!
The grand prize winners from my week of reader giveaways to celebrate BargainBabe.com’s 1-year anniversary are in!
- Christine from Los Angeles won the 8GB iPod Nano in her color choice, courtesy of Savings.com, a great site for retail coupons.
- LaKeita from Powder Springs, GA from the $100 Sephora card, courtesy of Friendgiftr.com, which sells gift cards through Facebook that you can use at multiple retailers
- Angela from Long Beach from the $50 gift card to Goldstar.com, a great place to get discounted concert, theater, and event tickets
- Janice from Northridge won a Bargain Babe hot pink T-shirt
- Cynthia from Valencia won a BargainBabe.com notepad, calculator and mouse pad
- Doreen from San Fernando won a copy of “The best of cheapskate monthly” by Mary Hunt
- Susan from Encino, CA won a copy of “TheSmartestWay to Save” by Samuel Freshman and Heidi Clingen
If you won, expect your prize to arrive in the next two weeks. Thanks to everyone who participated by reading BargainBabe.com! We have giveaways of personal fiance books every Tuesday and have monthly prizes as well. Just make sure you are signed up for my daily or weekly email list.
vistamommy/Flickr
Here are the winners from Day 1-4 of the giveaway last week. The grand prize winners of the iPod Nano and $100 Sephora gift card will be announced tomorrow!
If you have not checked your email recently, do so now. I emailed all the winners so if you have an email from me with the subject “You are a BargainBabe.com winner!” please reply ASAP.
Winners Day 1 Jan. 25
The $20 Target gift card,goes to Wendy in Irvine, CA
The $10 Marie Callender’s gift card goes to Susanne in Redondo Beach, CA
The 99 Cent only cookbook by Christiane Jory goes to Robin in Valley Village, CA
Secrets of a stingy scoundrel by Phil Villarreal goes to Joshua in Pensacola, FL
Bargain Babe hot pink T-shirts go to Kenda in Bowling Green, MO; Cyndy in Fort Wayne, IN; Kim in Woodland Hills, CA
Winners Day 2 Jan. 26
Five $15 Quiznos gift cards (one each) go to Suzanne in Northridge, CA; Sharon in Northridge, CA; Christine in Monterey Park, CA; Billy in Los Angeles; and James in Van Nuys, CA.
“A woman’s guide to investing” by Virginia Morris and Kenneth Morris goes to Michelle in Puerto Rico.
Bargain Babe hot pink T-shirts go to Zavonna in Los Angeles, CA; and Lyn in Boyertown, PA.
Winners Day 3 Jan. 27
$50 Amazon card goes to Lonnie in Moorpark, CA
$20 Dollar Tree gift card goes to Louise in Harbor City, CA
$15 Save-a-Lot gift card goes to Dolores in Colonia, NJ
“1001 ways to cut your expenses” by Jonathan Pond goes to Wendy in Orem, UT
“The Complete Single’s Guide to Dog Ownership” by Betsy Rosenfeld goes to Krystal in Clearwater, FL
Savings.com red canvas reusable bag and water bottle goes to Ann in Portland, OR
Bargain Babe hot pink T-shirts goes to Vicki in Stewardson, IL; Elana in Calabasas, CA; Jane in Sunland, CA; Cindy in Thousand Oaks, CA; and Joyce in Huntington Beach, CA.
Winners Day 4 Jan. 28
A years supply of Starbucks VIA instant coffee and a $25 Starbucks gift card goes to Claudia in Galt, CA
A $25 Starbucks gift card and a stainless steel VIA mug goes to Ann in Poquoson, VA; Cindy in Marysville, WA; Sue in Porter Ranch, CA; and Rachel in Lancaster, CA.
Winners Day 5 Jan. 29
I’m still waiting for winners from Day 5 to get back to me (they have until 10 a.m. PST Feb. 1) before I can award all the prizes:
- 8GB iPod Nano in your color choice, courtesy of Savings.com
- $100 Sephora card, courtesy of Friendgiftr.com
- $50 Goldstar.com card
- A Bargain Babe hot pink T-shirt
- BargainBabe.com notepad, calculator and mouse pad
- “The best of cheapskate monthly” by Mary Hunt
- “TheSmartestWay to Save” by Samuel Freshman and Heidi Clingen
I compiled some stats about who the winners are. Interesting!
Total winners Day 1-4: 31
Winners on my daily list: 24
Winners on my weekly list: 7
Winners from California, where I started BargainBabe.com: 19
Winners from outside California: 12
Female winners: 28
Male winners: 3
BargainBabe.com now has 4,943 readers on its email list – wahoo! Thank you all for reading, commenting, and contributing to BargainBabe.com.
brandi666/Flickr
Today, Jan. 29, 2010, is the last day of giveaways celebrating BargainBabe.com’s 1-year anniversary. To win, join my daily or weekly email list by 5 p.m. PST today.
Today we are giving away:
- 8GB iPod Nano in your color choice, courtesy of Savings.com
- $100 Sephora card, courtesy of Friendgiftr.com
- $50 Goldstar.com card
- A Bargain Babe hot pink T-shirt
- BargainBabe.com notepad, calculator and mouse pad
- The best of cheapskate monthly by Mary Hunt
- TheSmartestWay to Save by Samuel Freshman and Heidi Clingen
Thanks to everyone who joined my list and has been reading my money-saving blog for so long. I know a few of you have been around since I was at the LA Daily News!!!
Everyone who is on my email list – no matter what date you joined – is eligible to win. Winners are selected randomly with the help of Random.org and I email winners about their prize. Winners have 48 hours to respond or they forfeit their prizes so check your email daily for an email from me with the subject “You are a BargainBabe.com winner!”