Poor Man's Emergency Vegetable Soup

Ingredients
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp thyme
1 Tbsp curry powder
2 cups water
2 cups chicken stock (or 1 large bullion cube in 2 cups water)
1 (16-oz) frozen Ranchero Fiesto blend vegetables (Stop & Shop brand; made up of broccoli, white beans, dark red kidney beans, Garbanzo beans, carrots, Italian green beans, and red peppers)
1 tsp brown sugar
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Method
1.  Heat oil in a medium soup pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic, thyme, and curry powder and cook, stirring for about 1 minute.

2.  Add water, chicken stock, frozen vegetables, and brown sugar. Bring just to a boil.

3.  Reduce heat and cook until vegetables are heated through, about 10 minutes. Add salt and red pepper flakes to taste.


Adapted from the Hartford Courant recipe Easy Vegetable Soup.