recipe review: spinach and feta risotto

this was another recipe that i wanted to try from the slow cooker cookbook i read earlier this month. i was looking forward to it, too, b/c, well, spinach and feta. i love spinach and feta. mmm...spinach and feta...

where was i? oh, right. this recipe, which i really wanted to love but i couldn't. i'll explain why after i finish typing said recipe out for y'all b/c there's no link available:

Spinach and Feta Risotto
Serves 2 as a main dish 

1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/4 cups Arborio rice
2 cups sliced fresh button mushrooms
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
1 teaspoon dried dill
3 3/4 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
7 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
10 ounces fresh baby spinach 

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Add the oil to the insert, and swirl the rice in it to fully coat with the oil. Add the mushrooms, dried onion, dill, and pepper. Stir in the broth and wine. Cover, and cook on high for 3 hours. Stir well, then crumble in the cheese, and add the spinach. You may need to shove the spinach in to get it all to fit. Recover, and cook on high for 20 minutes, or until the spinach has wilted. Stir well and serve.

i used onion powder instead of dried minced onion b/c that's what was on hand. a 9oz bag of "regular" spinach was cheaper than 2 6oz bags of baby spinach, so that's what i bought. based on last week's risotto experiment, i decided to set the timer for 2 1/2 hours and adjust if needed. the rice was pretty tender after 2 1/2 hours, so in went the cheese and the spinach for another 20 minutes as directed.

y'all. i have made some pretty craptastic-looking meals that wound up being super-delicious. this? no. probably will not make again. it looked revolting and although the 1st bite showed promise, by the time i was finished eating a bowl for dinner last night, i knew this was not the risotto for me. i tried again tonight, thinking that maybe the flavors would have melded/hung out a bit more/improved overnight, but i was wrong and dumped it all out.

if you decide to make this, i'd cut back on the mushrooms (1 cup should be plenty - 2 cups seemed like overkill), and maybe adjust the wine/vegetable broth ratios to give it more flavor? i don't know. this was a culinary experiment gone wrong and i'm not inclined to give it another go. that bacon risotto, though? i'd totally make that again.