This is a legitimate weeknight shortcut if you're willing to stock tomato and bell pepper powder—both available at Harris Teeter or Kroger, though they may require a specialty aisle hunt rather than impulse-buy placement. The real cost is front-loaded: quality powders run $0.60–$1.20 per ounce, making this soup roughly $1.50–$2.00 per serving before salt and herbs, which is affordable but not dirt-cheap. The stated 2 minutes is honest for the pour-and-stir part, but the first-time ingredient hunt and the question of whether powders reconstitute into actual soup texture (rather than a thin, dusty broth) mean you should treat this as an experiment on a night when you're not depending on it to feel like dinner. It does not keep—this is drink-it-hot or start over.