HELOISE Ingredients make fat-free soup base

Dear Heloise: Could you please repeat the recipe for cream-soup mix? I've misplaced it. I love the idea that I can mix all the dry ingredients and keep it on hand. Things like this make my busy life much easier. L.B., Medford, Ore.
This cream-soup recipe is so easy to put together and is the base for many different cream soups -- just add your own flavor ingredients, like mushrooms, cooked chicken, broccoli or any leftovers you have on hand, and you'll have a delicious, quick soup. A bonus is that the base is fat-free.
To make one batch, mix together:
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon of dried basil
1 tablespoon of dried onion flakes
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1 cup nonfat dried milk powder
If you don't use it right away, store it in an airtight container or zip bag. To make the soup, put the mixture in a large saucepan and add 2 cups of cold water. Cook on medium heat and stir constantly until the mixture thickens. Next, add other ingredients and let the soup cook a few minutes longer. This will make about 4 to 6 servings, depending on what you add to it. For more great soup recipes, get a copy of my six-page soup pamphlet, Heloise's Spectacular Soups. Just send $4 and a long, stamped (60 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Heloise/Soup, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5001. Or you can visit my Web site at www.Heloise.com and go to the pamphlet section. Hint: For an interesting cream-soup topping, sprinkle with chopped herbs, add a dollop of sour cream or nonfat yogurt, or sprinkle with a dash of paprika for color. Heloise
Dear Heloise: I love to bake bread on my expensive, coated cookie pans, but the egg coating leaves a residue that is hard to clean off without scratching the pans.
The answer: Use regular, dry baking soda and a soft, wet sponge. Voil & aacute; -- a clean pan! Susan Heinemann, Morro Bay, Calif.
Dear Heloise: I'd like to share a hint that my son thinks is cool:
I had a small dish drainer that was no longer needed and was too good to throw away. My pot lids were always stuck together or scattered, so I put the drainer on the shelf and stood the lids in the drainer. No more stuck lids, and they line up by size so it's easy to get the right lid for the right pot. Colleen Cargill, Wimberley, Texas
Dear Heloise: While preparing watermelon for guests, I realized that I never did get around to buying a melon-ball utensil and found that I could use my measuring spoons -- preferably the teaspoon size -- instead. It was perfect, and I won't be purchasing yet another utensil. Liz Coonfer, Hot Springs, Ark.
Dear Heloise: To make a quick, easy drying rack for plastic food-storage bags that you have washed, cut both ends from a plastic soft-drink bottle. Use this as a "stand" for drying. Suzanne Wills, via e-mail
King Features Syndicate