Dozens of readers commented on two posts asking how much a recipe for lemon chicken pasta costs for a chance to win a free one-year membership to BJ’s, worth $45. I gave one clue – the answer was less than $12. The reader who came closest without going over is the winner.
And the prize goes to…
Elaine, who guessed BJ’s lemon-chicken pasta costs $7.50. The recipe, which serves 4, costs $1.91 per serving, or $7.64. Congrats, Elaine!
If you missed the recipe, get it here. The membership was donated by BJ’s.
If you lost, stay tuned for another contest starting tomorrow to win $500 worth of groceries!
If you saw heard me on Martha Stewart Living radio on Sirius this morning, welcome to BargainBabe.com! We share tips and strategies to save money on everyday expenses like groceries, gasoline, and household bills – because the little things add up.
If you like what you see, sign up for my daily or weekly email list here. Next week I’m giving away $500 worth of groceries so it’s a good idea to stick around!
If you’d like to learn about more coupon clipping techniques, strategies, and helpful websites, check out my coupon tips.
Looking for an easy way to budget? I must have tried a dozen different budgeting systems before I discovered one that worked for me. It’s simple, practical, and really helps trim your credit card bill. I shaved $2,000 off mine the first month I used it!
A reader asked me how I keep my weekly grocery bill to $27 and I laid out all my grocery tips for her.
Win a $45 membership to BJ’s warehouse club if you guess how much it costs to make their lemon-chicken bowtie pasta recipe. Contest ends Monday night!
Thanks for visiting BargainBabe.com!
Here are the best Los Angeles deals this week from BargainBabeLA.com.
Disneyland tickets are discounted for SoCal residents who take advantage of the 2fer ticket on sale for a limited time.
If you can’t wait for the baseball season to open, get $11 Dodgers tickets to their spring training.
In Encino, reader Franki recommends the newly opened One Dollar Bookstore.
The Long Beach Aquarium is free for teachers in the month of March. Wahoo!
Sign up to sell your kids gently used clothes, toys, and gear and make some serious cash.
UPDATE: This contest is over. Thanks for participating!
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.
TODAY ONLY! Get a free serving of honey walnut shrimp at Panda Express.
Get a free turkey product from Jennie-O with this $5 mail-in rebate.
Restaurant discounts are happening at Restaurant.com right now with a coupon code that expires Thursday, March 11, 2010.
If you live on the East Coast, check out this Filene’s Basement coupon for an extra 10% off their designer sale.
Here’s a Coldwater Creek coupon for 20-25% off when you spend $100 or more, now through Saturday, March 13, 2010.
Snag a Kenneth Cole coupon for 20% off when you donate gently-used shoes for Haiti. Ends March 31, 2010!
Buying books, DVDs or Blu-Rays? Check out these two Borders coupons for 25-40% off.
Plus, did you hear that Disneyland gave away all its free passes for 2010? The volunteer-for-a-day-and-get-a-free-pass proved more popular than Mickey Mouse.
TheConsumerist.com
Jetblue is selling a bunch of flights from JFK for $10 each. The site was getting hammered last time I checked so give the pages time to load.
New customers can get a free photobook from Picaboo or, if you already have an account with them, there is a BOGO free coupon that is good through March 31, 2010.
Use this Gap coupon code to get jeans at 30 percent off. Just trade-in an old pair by Sunday, March 14, 2010.
Snag a bag of free dog treats from Science Diet when you share your name, email and address.
Coldwater Creek coupons! Get 20-25 percent off when you buy $100 or more. Good in stores and online.
Do you live near a Dunkin Donuts? Then get free coffee every Monday in March.
Get a free one-week gym membership and a customized fitness plan to help you lose weight through Curves. Note, you’ll have to share your name and phone number to take advantage of this deal.
Emergen-C has new flavors of its vitamin-packed powder mixes, including some that suggest cocktails! Get a free sample here.
Coming later today to my WalletPop blog: a free sample of dog treats, and a tip on how to get 30 percent off Gap jeans.
TODAY ONLY FROM 4-7 p.m. get a free peach tea drink at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (not as pictured). No coupon needed, no purchase necessary. The freebie is 12-ounces. Valid only on Thursday, March 4, 2010.
Free address labels! This deal is for 140 labels through Vista Print, which charges you $3-5 for shipping. Not too bad!
Nab a free sample of the vitamin-packed powder packets known as Emergen-C, which has recently added four flavors.
If you don’t clip coupons, how are you going to get free tomato paste and Tylenol PM this week?
It doesn’t get much better than free candy, so check out this buy-one-get-one free candy coupon for Skittles and Starbursts.
Here’s another free sample, this this for PowerBar Gel Blasts, which give you an energy boost on long workouts.
Check out all the deals on my WalletPop blog.
Ben & Jerry’s is selling scoops of Blond Maple for $1 today in honor of Olympic Hannah Teter. (A different flavor is pictured at right.)
Through March 8, 2010 get 30 percent off at Borders with this coupon.
Snag a free $10 gift card to Bahama Breeze, a restaurant located in 12 states.
The magazine subscription sale at Amazon has a bunch of year-long subscriptions for $7, including Good Housekeeping, Nylon, Popular Mechanics, Smart Money, and Town & Country. There are also some great magazines for $10, like Seventeen and Entertainment Weekly.
Spring fashions are 20 percent off at Old Navy online through March 4, 2010. Get the coupon code.
Get a free Uni-Ball pen when you share a little info about yourself.
Check out all the deals on my WalletPop blog.
Free cookies! Check out this deal for free Chips Ahoy!, which involves friending them on Facebook and buying a gallon of milk.
Use this J.Crew coupon code to get an extra 30 percent off final sale items when you spend $100 or more. Ohhhhh, it may be time to finally use my J.Crew gift card.
Get a free Redbox movie rental code good today March 1, 2010, only.
Spend $25 at Bath and Body Works and get $1 shipping today only.
Check out all the deals on my WalletPop blog.
This week’s round up post of free products includes free deodorant, dessert, body wash, and gift cards. Get all the freebie deals here.
Borders just released four coupons, from 25-50% off. Some are quite exclusive, others are more open ended.
At 2 p.m. PST today I will publish a coupon code for 80% off restaurant gift certificates on my WalletPop blog. Check back later!
This week’s winner of the $10 Starbucks card is EvieK, who won by sharing great Los Angeles deals on BargainBabeLA.com. Congrats!
Kids eat free every Wednesday at El Torrito. Luuuv their chips and salsa. (Bargain Babe shared this deal.)
Still hungry? All you can eat BBQ is just $12 Monday and Tuesday at Willy’s Smokehouse. I am so there! (Shared by EvieK)
Dodgers tickets are half off for many of their early season games. Great prices for the Anaheim Angels, too!
Put this one on your calender for next weekend. The United Methodist Church in Northridge is holding a massive yard sale going on March 6.
The DLM clothing warehouse is opening its doors again to the public for a massive sale with prices at 80-90 percent below retail. Last time I blogged about DLM there was a huge response.
CVS.com is putting a bunch of CVS-brand products on sale by 20-30% off, including products for weight loss, dieting, hair loss, and smoking cessation. Plus, toothbrushes are as low as $.69 and vitamins are on sale.
A reader named Tami let me know about a fabulous sale + rebate offer that makes money and gets you free Olay Body Wash at Target. This week only!
Here’s another hot drugstore sale. All Rite Aid brand products are buy one get one 50% off Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 25-27, 2010.
Get a free sample of Tide Febreeze laundry detergent (not as pictured) when you sign up for the P&G email list. Already on it? You are still eligible.
See all the deals and coupons on my WalletPop blog.
There are plenty of ways to do your taxes yourself and not pay a dime, especially if you make less than $49,000 (see three ways to do this below). But if you are going to hire someone, here are nine tips from author and CPA Stacy Johnson to help you choose a tax pro.
For the last four of Stacy’s tips for choosing a tax pro, visit his site, MoneyTalksNews, and scroll down to below the video.
Resources to file taxes for free
If you make less than $49,000 you can get free tax preparation and e-filing through the IRS’ VITA program.
File your taxes for FREE through AARP, even if you’re not a senior.
No matter what your income, file your taxes for free online through the IRS’ Free File Fillable Forms.
And there are lots of coupon codes for tax software, like this tax software coupon for 25% off at H&R Block At Home.
Free food alert! Free pancake day is tomorrow, Tuesday Feb. 23, 2010 at IHOP.
Is it your birthday? Get a free birthday dessert from Jack in the Box.
Nursing scrubs are on sale at Dickies. Get 20 percent off when you spend $50 or more.
Gift certificates for restaurants so you can get out of your kitchen are 80 percent off until Feb. 28, 2010.
Check out all the deals on my WalletPop blog.
