Symphony Brownies

The hubby and I have very similar food tastes and philosophies. We like food that tastes good, regardless of its preparation complexity or snob level. We share many of the same favorite dishes. Where our tastes do differ -- such as the hubby's love for seafood -- we agree that it's still OK for one person to indulge those tastes while the other person finds something else to eat.

One area where we differ is that I like to experiment more with recipes, whereas the hubby sees no reason to try new recipes for dishes that he thinks we've already perfected. Why try a new stew recipe when we already make the perfect stew? Why try a different cheesecake when fudge truffle can't be beat?

You can imagine the look on his face tonight when I offered to bake brownies, but told him I was throwing Symphony bars in the middle of it.

This is a recipe that I first saw on one of Paula Deen's cooking shows, and I've seen it posted elsewhere, as well. Most recipes call for breaking up two Symphony bars, but I could swear I saw Paula just plop three whole ones into her brownies, so that's what I did.

These are scrumptious. Even the hubby liked them. I warned him that there were toffee bits in the brownies. (I didn't mention the almonds. He would've freaked.) When I asked how they were, he said, "Good, but there's some sort of crunchy $@&# in them." So here you go. Easy, good brownies with crunchy $@&# in them.

Symphony Brownies
Makes 16

1 family-sized pkg. of brownie mix
Oil, eggs, and water, as per package instructions
3 4.25-oz. Symphony bars with almonds and toffee

1. Preheat oven as directed on package, and spray cooking spray in the bottom of a 9" x 13" pan.

2. Prepare brownie batter according to package instructions.

3. Pour half the batter in the pan. Lay unwrapped candy bars in a single layer on the batter. Cover with the remaining batter.

4. Bake according to package instructions. Let cool slightly before cutting.

That was my attempt at a picture. Here's another.

This was taken by my brother, Cory, who was visiting his new nephew. Cory brought a lens that's longer than my arm, and stopped taking cute Jack pics long enough to take some cute brownie pics.

I'm thinking about making Cory my official blog photographer. Of course, he'd have to move in. He can share baby Jack's room. Jack thinks sleep is for babies, so he's certainly not using it.

Lasagna Soup

Because I'm lucky enough to be home all day with the little man for the next few months, we've been trying to cook meals that make a lot of leftovers so I have quick food for lunch. And food that reheats well.

The little man lives life by the seat of his diaper right now, so some days I might have a leisurely hour for lunch, and other days I reheat the same bowl of soup four times over the course of two hours before I finally get a chance to sit down and eat. (The hubby keeps repeating that quote from A Christmas Story -- "My mother had not had a hot meal for herself in 15 years ...")

Soup. Soup is good.

This recipe is an adaptation of what I think is a Paula Deen recipe. I vaguely recall seeing it on one of her shows, in any case. It really does have a flavor resembling lasagna; I was afraid that it would be too tomato-y and acidic, but the chicken broth and brown sugar do their thing. The original recipe also recommended serving this soup with a big helping of broiled cheese and garlic toast on top (like French Onion soup is served), but I went with just a sprinkling of mozzarella on the steaming soup. I'm trying to regain my girlish figure 'n' all.

Oh, wait. I've never had a girlish figure.

Lasagna Soup
Serves 6

1 lb. hamburger
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
32 oz. chicken broth
2 14.5-oz. cans petite-diced tomatoes, undrained
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. mafalda (mini lasagna) noodles, or broken lasagna noodles
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
Shredded mozzarella

1. In a Dutch oven or soup pot, cook hamburger, onion, and garlic over medium-high heat until hamburger is browned.

2. Stir in thyme, brown sugar, broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and salt. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.

3. Add noodles. Simmer until noodles are tender, about 10 minutes.

4. Stir in parmesan cheese.

5. Serve with shredded mozzarella.