Family Dollar enlists celebrity chef

Family Dollar continues to aggressively promote its food offerings, partnering with celebrity chef Melissa d'Arabian (of Food Network's "Ten Dollar Dinner") in a contest to find frugal, Family Dollar-based recipes.

Customers can enter the "Dollar Dinners for the Holidays" contest at www.familydollar.com. There, you'll be able to enter a recipe, drawing on ingredients found at Family Dollar stores and within a cost range. D'Arabian will help select the winner, who gets a private entertaining consultation with the chef celeb and a $500 Family Dollar gift card.

The winner will be chosen in early 2012, Family Dollar said. The company, with just over 7,000 locations, has increased the amount of food available in its stores. Family Dollar (and other low-cost retailers) are trying to lure customers in for fill-in trips by offering a basic selection of groceries, nipping at the heels of Wal-Mart Supercenters and traditional grocers along the way.

You can read Family Dollar's announcement and more about the contest's conditions here.