Diane Phillips presents The Soup Mix Gourmet, mainstream short-cut cooking at its best, with more than 375 recipes that use dry soup mix or canned condensed soup as a key flavor ingredient. Simply put, these are easy-to-follow recipes for delicious meals that beat the clock. Because these soups pack a flavor wallop, adding them to dishes shaves down cooking times and strengthens flavors. The recipes here aren't merely variations on old recipes Mom used to make from the back of the box or the inside of the soup-can label. Phillips has used her culinary imagination and cooking skills to learn the best ways to use dried and canned soups, and she has given cooks fresh new ideas as well as old favorites reworked for today. Go beyond basic onion dip with savory Grecian Vegetable Dip. Show up at a potluck with Tuscan Green Bean Salad or Garlic Sesame Breadsticks. Explore new ways to cook the same old chicken with Friday Night Bistro Chicken. Plan a dinner for company with Lamb and Eggplant Lasagna, or a brunch with Lobster-Stuffed Potatoes. There are also recipes for casseroles, rice and pasta dishes, chilis, marinades and sauces, and, of course, soups and stews.