I used a 4 qt round crockpot for this dish.Turn your crock to high and add the butter so it can start melting. Wash and cut up your apples while it begins to melt. Add the rice to the butter, and stir it around to coat it nicely. If the butter isn't completely melted, don't worry. Mine wasn't either, and it didn't seem to make a difference. Add the apples, and spices. Stir in the juice/milk.Cover and cook on high for 3-5 hours, or on low for 6 or so. I was really surprised how long it took---I needed to cook it on high for 4.5 hours---and since I just made the rice and beans, I thought it would cook as fast as that dish did. The Verdict.Oh my. This was delicious. The kids each had 3 small bowls, and I had more than I probably should have since it was full of half and half. But it was very tasty.The half and half did separate a bit, and created some white chunks. We had it in the house because we made some plastic bag ice cream, and I didn't want it to go bad, but next time I'll stick to 2% milk in the crock. That said, the white chunks dissipated after a quick stir, and it didn't taste sour or weird at all. It was creamy and delicious. We added a touch more brown sugar to the top and sprinkled on some dried cranberries.I will definitely make this again, and not try to fix the brown rice and quinoa dish. The kids decided it was porridge and did a whole bear and Goldilocks routine. My part was sitting on the couch and eating. good deal.