I'm not riding everyone else's coattails by giving this a 5 star rating. It really is the best bean soup we have ever tasted. It's rich, tangy, sweet, and savory all at once. I made a total pig out of myself because I just couldn't stop eating it!! Mine may have been slightly sweet because I used leftover honey-glazed sprial ham. Still, it was awesome. I would have liked to do it in a crock pot but it wouldn't all fit in my 4 quart model. I had all I could do to get everything in an 8 quart stock pot. Next time I'll have an 8 quart crock pot so I can "set it and forget it" while I'm at work. If you have a leftover ham bone, you really need to try this recipe!

Reviewed On: Jan. 8, 2009

This is a very good recipe. It's easy to make, with simple ingredients, and the end result is a rich, filling meal. I used turkey Italian sausage, added some fresh garlic in addition to the onion and celery during browning, and some basil to the sauce. The celery seemed a little weird in a pasta dish, but it added a nice contrast in texture to the pasta, cheese,and sausage. Overall, this dish was excellent. This one's a keeper.

Reviewed On: Aug. 2, 2008

This recipe is flawed. First, although there is no mention of water in the ingredients list, the first step of the directions instructs you to "bring water to a boil". What water? I just used the amount of water recommended for cooking the rice, but then when it turned out so soupy I began to wonder if I had used too much. Unfortunately, I did not read through all of the reviews before I made it and therefore did not know I needed to bake it for 1-1/2 hours. I let it go for 1 hour before the bottom started burning. The end result is a (sickly sweet) soupy mixture with clumps of gooey, partially burned rice. Oh yeah, and it could use some cinnamon. I'll try another recipe next time.

Reviewed On: Mar. 9, 2008