Every once in a while, even those who most love cooking are just too tired or out of ideas to cook. That is the perfect time for me to pull out this little gem! I love recipes that are fast & frugal, and this one is both with the added benefit of being healthy as well.

Whether crunched for time, short on creativity, or you didn’t have time to run to the store so what you have on the shelves is what you’ve got for dinner, this recipe is bound to please. Especially if you do not like to cook any time, this recipe is perfect for you.

Simple: just open a few cans, dump into a pot, and dinner is simmering away. If reading isn’t your thing, and you’d rather see just how easy this is, you can check out the YouTube video, or scroll to the bottom of this post.

Ingredients:

• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can corn
• 2 cans any type of beans (I used balck and red)
• Optional: 1 can chicken
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 gallon water
• Optional: Chicken bouillon

Step 1: Open the chicken, beans, & corn, and drain if you’d like. Rinse the beans to get rid of excess sodium. Honestly, I just throw all of it in the pot for flavor.

Step 2: Pour the water and canned goods into a pot, not draining the diced tomatoes. I usually use diced tomatoes with green chilies because I like the extra spice. You could use regular tomatoes to tone it down, or dice up a jalapeno and throw it in or add hot sauce for even more spice.

Step 3: Add in the salsa, stir it all around. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 20-30 minutes.

This could also be made by throwing all the ingredients into a crock pot on low all day.

Suggested toppings include shredded cheese, crushed tortilla chips or torn tortillas, and sour cream.

If you choose, you can use cooked shredded chicken breast instead of canned. Or you could leave out the chicken for a hearty vegetarian soup, both ways are delicious.