Things may have been tough this past year, but at least we weren't making Depression Soup...right?

A photo posted to the Minnesota thread of Reddit shows a Minnesota man's rather sorry cookbook recipe submission. "Found a very sad recipe in my mom's old depression cookbook," reads text on the photo. The recipe -- shared by Gilbert Golla of Grand Rapids and titled "Depression Soup" -- is rather succinct and telling of the times it may have been submitted. The recipe only calls for two ingredients and includes just one line of simple steps. The ingredients are:

1/3 cup ketchup
2/3 cup boiling water

The instructions are: "Combine in a mug, stir and you have depression soup."

Good ol’ fashioned Minnesota Depression soup. from r/minnesota

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While it's possible the recipe was a prank submission (we don't know the source, date or anything more than what the photo includes) it's more likely that it wasn't. Similar recipes of basic ingredient soups like navy bean soup, corn chowder, and potato soup were popular during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

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While desperate times certainly call for desperate measures, many online were able to find humor in the "depressing" recipe.

"I love how it doesn't end with 'serve and enjoy' or something," remarked one on the photo. "It just says that you have it now."

"My cousin Paul once went into Porky's and ordered a cup of hot water. He then dumped ketchup into the water and made his own 'Depression Soup.' He got kicked out."

"Lucy once did the same thing in an episode of the Lucy Show, but she also added lemon and didn't get kicked out, but she did get a dirty look from the server."

"If you want even more depression with your Depression soup, use Hunts," joked another.

Jokes aside, we thought it worth recognizing Gilbert Golla and his easy, two-ingredient recipe!

What simple recipe have you turned to for a quick-fix meal?

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