Cooking soup from scratch can be a labor intensive and require time you may not have. Lipton Soup Secrets are preseasoned, precooked and dehydrated, yet once cooked, they provide you with soup in a matter of minutes. The only "cooking" you do is rehydrating the ingredients and heating the soup. Once you learn how to cook one variety of Lipton Soup Secrets, you can cook them all.

Pour 3 cups water in a medium-sized pot, turn the burner on high, and let the water come to a boil.

Tear open the Soup Secrets pouch of soup mix, and pour the contents into the water. Gently stir with a spoon as you pour, to prevent the soup seasoning from clumping in the water.

Reduce the heat to medium once the soup begins to boil. Stir occasionally to prevent it from burning. Add 1/2 cup of water if the water appears to be evaporating.

Cook the soup for five minutes or until the noodles or other soup ingredients are tender. To test the consistency of the ingredients, try to cut through an ingredient with a spoon.

Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool for one to two minutes.

Pour 3 cups of water in a 2-qt. microwave-safe dish or bowl.

Tear open the Soup Secrets pouch of soup mix, and pour the contents into the water. Stir with a spoon to keep the soup seasoning from clumping in the water. Push lumps against the side of the dish to help them dissolve.

Cook the soup on high for twelve minutes. Cook for six minutes, remove the soup and stir it. Return it to the microwave and cook it for six minutes more.

Continue to cook the soup until all ingredients are tender, if they are not done within the original 12 minutes. The soup will be hot so it is usually a good idea to let it sit and cool for a minute or two.