After a ten hour day, staring down the eyes of three more hours of late night work, I’ve been unable to plan any sort of decent meal.

Take on the crazy notion that I can last two months without dining out and I set myself up for disaster…

Or did I?

I heard an advertisement for E-mealz and decided to give it a shot the same day I promised my husband to say no to dining out. If you’ve never heard of E-mealz, let me give you the quick run-down. E-mealz is a weekly menu planning resource with over 28 menu options to choose from – including meals for two, meals for four, points system meal plans, and a gluten free menu (hint hint to my sister Lizzy and her gluten free child). Once a week I log on, download my menu and my shopping list, make a 30 minute trip to the grocery store, and never think about dinner again until I’m in the kitchen for 30 minutes making it each night.

The menus rotate beef, chicken, pork, fish, and vegetarian dishes and *gasp* force me to try new things.

My sister-in-law (who works late into the night) frequently comes home, drops her bags on the floor, and calls ‘What’s on the E-mealz menu tonight?!? Smells so yummy!’ as she pulls up a barstool and serves a plate.

Weird. I never heard her say that when I made turkey wraps for the 15th time in a month.

I used to spend $120 a week on food. With E-mealz, I spend around $55. I’m not trying to sound like a walking advertisement but it’s hard not to share when you’ve found something that makes a chore easy and reduces your grocery budget by 50%. Membership is only $1.25 a week!

I approached the folks at E-meals and asked them if they would be willing to donate a one month subscription to one of my readers. Not only did they agree, they donated a 3 month subscription to give away AND offered 10% off for all BloggingAwayDebt readers.

How can you win it? Leave a comment and let me know you are interested (make sure to type your e-mail address in the ‘Mail’ slot). I’ll throw all the comment names into a hat and draw a winner on Wednesday night (August 18th). The winner’s name will be posted on Thursday, August 19th.

If you don’t win but are interested in using E-mealz and want 10% off, click the link/photo below and type in the code: savemoney

Please make sure to click the link/photo so E-mealz knows where the referrals are coming from.

And, the recipe for chicken puffs? It’s an E-mealz dinner! Wrap cooked chicken and cream cheese in a reduced fat crescent roll. Cook as instructed on the crescent roll directions. It’s AMAZING!!

We received an e-mail about a month ago proposing a company potluck instead of the catered affair. It sounded like a stupid idea to me. Dry mashed potatoes? Soggy salad? Not my idea of holiday cheer.

As I entered the giant conference room, I was assaulted by the powerful scents of AMAZING food. I was wrong about the culinary talents of my co-workers.

I am fortunate to work with a group of ethnically diverse folks. I filled my plate with lumpia, pancit, spicy dip, Mexican cheese wraps, and other foods I’d never had the opportunity to try before. For two hours, I ate the treasures created by my co-workers and shared my fresh warm bread. We talked and shared recipes. We caught up on recent gossip and for a moment…

forgot that the economy sucks.

It was by far the best company party we’ve ever had.

Try something new this year. It may just be the best thing you’ve ever done.

Maybe this recession isn’t all bad.

OK, truth be told? I’m probably wrapped in sun protecting blankets under the pop up tent whining about how the sun is too bright, the showers are too cold, and the sand is too hot.

But I WILL have a margarita.

My husband I are in love with Sam the Cooking Guy (previously on Cox Cable channel 4, but now he has his own show on Discovery Health called ‘Just Cook This with Sam the Cooking Guy’)

Frankly, if I can make this meal (I’m what some call ‘culinary challenged’)… YOU can make it.

Oh, and watch Sam the Cooking Guy. He gives great tips on how to cook fast, easy, and inexpensive meals. So while I’m out, here’s a cheap dinner to enjoy.

Thai Curried Chicken

Ingredients
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
One 14 ounce can light coconut milk
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 tablespoons Asian chili paste (I used Asian chili sauce and it worked just as well)
Zest of one lime plus the juice (no zester? no worry – just use the juice)
Cilantro, chopped fine for garnish
Cooked rice for serving

Trim chicken of any extra fat. In a large bowl, combine coconut milk, cumin, curry, chili paste, lime zest and juice, mix well.

Reserve about 1/3 of the sauce for after, but add the chicken to the rest. Mix well, cover and marinate—anywhere from 15 minutes to overnight.

Heat bbq or grill pan and cook chicken on both side until cooked though—those cool grill marks are perfect here. While the chicken cooks, simmer the extra sauce in a small pot to thicken.

Slice into strips, serve on top of rice with a little extra sauce and a sprinkle of cilantro.

Serves 6.

Visit his website for more info:

http://health.discovery.com/fansites/sam-zien/sam-zien.html