Each of our six of our finalists for the Food Blogger Budget Recipe Challenge will be featured in a blog post here. Read about them and check out their featured recipe. By posting a comment on their recipe page, you help determine the winner in our Challenge AND you’ll be entered in a drawing to win a $500 gift card!

Michael Chu is a computer engineer who learned to cook as a hobby. He began sharing what he learned through countless trial-and-error experiments on Cooking For Engineers in 2004.  His blog is a food and cooking site for the inquisitive.  It features detailed recipes with step-by-step photographs presented alongside in-depth articles on topics such as how brining works, making butter at home, equipment tests and more.

Don’t lie: what did you have for dinner last night?

Flanken-style short ribs in Korean Asian pear marinade grilled on an outdoor grill (Kalbi), light salad of fresh lettuces, seaweed salad (purchased at the local Korean market), steamed white rice.

Remember: Don’t comment here if you want to support Michael in our contest. You have to comment on his recipe page. We turned comments off to help you remember!

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We are all about food around here. And you know who else is? Food bloggers. Many of you probably visit a variety of food blogs to find out what’s going on in the world of food and to get ideas for dinner tonight! With everyone looking for innovative ways to stretch their food dollars these days, we challenged our favorite food bloggers to develop a budget-conscious (under $4 per serving) weeknight meal recipe that doesn’t sacrifice good taste. Boy did they deliver! It was a tough decision, but we’ve narrowed the entries to the top six and here’s where we need your help.

You can help us determine the winner of our Food Blogger Budget Recipe Challenge by reviewing their recipes. Everyone who posts a comment to our website on one of the finalist recipes by October 8th will automatically be entered to win a $500 Whole Foods Market Gift Card. Simple, right?

Watch for our posts on Whole Story next week that will give you an inside peek at these food bloggers and their budget tips. With no further ado, here are the final six:

• Farro with Butternut Squash, Hazelnuts and Swiss Chard from Katy Zandy of Sugarlaws
• Chicken Marsala with Brussels sprouts and Capellini Aglio e Olio from Michael Chu of Cooking for Engineers
• Wonton Noodle Soup from Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen
• Cincinnati Chili from Rachel Rappaport of Coconut & Lime
• Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas from Karina Allrich of Karina’s Kitchen, Recipes from a Gluten-Free Goddess
• Miso Bulgur Pilaf with Lemon-Ginger Tofu from Hannah Kaminsky of Bittersweet