The first time I made Friendship Soup, I gave it a low review because the tomato paste made it unappetizing and I didn't like the combination of both the rice AND the pasta. I made it again last night by using an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce instead of paste, a 14.5 oz. can of Italian style diced tomatoes, no rice and double the pasta (whole wheat spirals), and it was a winner with my best friend, boyfriend, and me. I didn't have bouillion on hand so I used 2 packets of onion soup mix instead and seasoned it accordingly. I also couldn't find barley, so I doubled the lentils. I served it with cornbread, but garlic bread would be wonderful too. I could see this recipe being a wonderful starter for minestrone soup -- just add your own carrots, zucchini, potatoes, spinach, whatever. Yum :-)

Per others' suggestions, I used 1 c. melted butter and only 3 eggs plus 1 t. vanilla flavoring, and swapped 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips for the 1/2 c. nuts. I baked mine in an 8x8 pan and increased baking time by 15 minutes, and the results were the thickest, most decadently divine brownies ever. DEFINITELY gift-worthy - package the mix in plastic bags and put that inside a brown paper lunch bag for a cheaper alternative to glass jars. Add a raffia or holiday ribbon bow along with an instruction tag, and put a holiday die-cut on the front with the name of the mix (minus the "in the jar" part). That's how I'm giving mine this year!