The Struggle 'Cupboard' Meal You Can Make With 5 Canned Ingredients And $7

A good struggle meal has to hit a couple of marks to succeed. It needs to be easy, and it needs to be inexpensive. Ideally, it should also taste good. Too many times, a struggle meal will sacrifice one of those elements in favor of the others, which can be frustrating. The rare meal that pulls off all three is one you might end up making again and again, even when you're not struggling. If you're a fan of Mexican flavors and looking for a filling meal that will cost under $10 and feed up to four people, a hearty five-can chili might be just the thing.

The price of canned foods varies based on where you are and which stores you shop at. Walmart is one option, and usually has some of the most affordable canned foods, with the Great Value brand usually cheaper than most name-brand versions. Of course, most grocery stores have their own generic version of pantry staples, so you can shop around or just stick with the brand you're comfortable with.

Our chili starts with a can of 15-ounce Great Value mixed chili beans (about 90 cents). This is a good shortcut to give you a variety of beans and the base of a sauce. The can includes kidney beans, pinto beans, and black beans in a tomato-based sauce with seasonings like garlic, chili powder, and cumin. You don't want to rely too heavily on a canned product's spices for flavor, but the seasoning helps boost the rest of the ingredients.

The bulk of your sauce comes in two parts. First is a 14.5-ounce can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes with seasoning (about $1.25). Fire-roasting is a simple trick to add more flavor and bring savory depth. The seasoning mix includes garlic and onion to build on the chili sauce from the beans. Add to that a 10-ounce can of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies (around $2). These two cans add most of the moisture to the chili along with a robust tomato flavor and a hint of spice.

For sweetness, a touch more spice, and some freshness and texture, add a can of Southwest corn (about $1.25). The corn is packed with poblano and red bell peppers to bring more veggies to the mix. Finally, a can of chipotle peppers in adobo (about $1.50). You don't need a full can of these; you'll just want to dice up a couple peppers to add some smoky heat to the dish. When everything is mixed together, you'll have about 55 ounces of chili, so expect about 6 cups after cooking.

You can round out the flavor with any spices or seasonings you have at home. Be careful with any salt because of the salt content already in the cans, but consider including chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder to give the chili more depth. For a splurge, serve it with a little cheese or sour cream on top, or just as is for a cheap, filling meal that's hearty, savory, and won't leave you feeling hungry. Best of all, it will taste better than even the best canned chili.

Total cost: About $7.00, or just over $1.75 per 1.5 cup serving