Slow Cooker Lentil Rice Soup

"Okay...call it morbid curiosity, but I came across this recipe and just had to try it because of all the bad reviews. Is it really that bad?!?! Well, no. The ratio of water to lentil/rice is 2:1. ..." See moreAfter reading all of the reviews, clearly the amount of liquid is one issue, so I upped it to 3:1. It could have used more, but oh well. Also, reviewers complained about blandness. Well, this is a site where everyone tweaks things according to their own preferences (aside from those who substitute raspberries for jalapenos and salmon for beef and peas for potatoes, decide to cook it on a Coleman instead of the oven and then say it was terrible). So I added chopped sweet peppers, cumin, red pepper flakes and italian seasoning and used all chicken broth instead of water. Length of cooking time seems to also be an issue, so I only cooked it 4 hours on low which was enough. It turned out to be a fine lentil and rice dish. It is by no means soup, but it does taste good. Whether or not I will make it again, I do not know. It does make a good side dish or quick meal."

"I followed suggestions of previous reviewers. I soaked the lentils for 14 hours. I used 1 cup of rice and 1 cup of lentils. I used 2 cups vegetable broth and 7 cups of water. I used about 3/4 tsp garl..." See moreic powder. I cooked on high for 3.5 hours, added mushrooms and cooked for 30 minutes. The soup thickens a lot as it stands, too. This is a thick soup, but that is what makes it really good. It has great flavor."

"I prefer to soak the lentils in water overnight and set the crockpot on high for aobut half of the cook time. (We like them very soft.) Also, try part wild rice in this recipe--it adds lots of flavor..." See more!! Very hearty and makes a huge batch!"