Adding the instant rice at the end of the cooking time is a great trick which will work with almost any crockpot soup or stew recipe.
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 9 hours
Ingredients:
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 carrots, shredded
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 6 oz. can tomato paste
- 1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
- 1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups vegetable broth or chicken stock
- 1 cup long grain brown rice
- 1/2 cup pesto
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation:
Combine all ingredients except for pesto, and cheese in a 3-4 quart crockpot and mix to blend. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours. Stir in instant rice, then cover and cook 10-15 minutes until rice is tender. In small bowl, combine pesto and cheese and blend; serve with soup. 6 servings
