Family Meals...Under $5!

Try Frugal Living Skills' Cheap Meals category for a bunch of great -- and cheap -- meals, ranging from pork roast to pizza.

Not to mention a host of goodies from 5DollarDinners.com.

Yum.

Here's one of my favorites, especially right now, when the veggies are ripe and the livin' is easy:

Oriental Stir-Fry

2 cups of chunked chicken breast OR pork roast OR thin-sliced beef OR shelled shrimp
(or substitute your favorite protein or tofu)

2-4 cups vegetables, sliced thin and/or chunked. Possibilities include:
snow peas, onion (or green onion), cabbage, spinach, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms broccoli, green beans, celery, your choice --
the fresher, the better -- use what's on sale

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 small piece fresh ginger

hot rice

Start the rice while you cut up your veggies and protein. (Hint: protein slices easier when it's still half-frozen.) Separate out the fast-cooking veggies for adding last. Start the oil sizzling in a fry pan, dump in the slower-cooking protein and veggies plus the ginger and stir for a minute or two. Sprinkle in the wine, stir a minute or so more. Add the soy sauce, then the slower-cooking veggies. Turn the heat off and stir one more time to mix everything nicely. Discard the ginger.

Pile on top of the rice, grab your chopsticks, and enjoy. This serves 4...or 2 very hungry people