Brussels Sprout Soup: Time Consuming and Needs Some Tweaking

I had some frozen Brussels sprouts in my freezer because I thought I would have to use them in the stir fry. I ended up getting some fresh for that recipe, and don't like things to take up my freezer, so I was trying to think up ways to use it. Wouldn't you know it? When I borrowed one of my mother in-law's cookbooks, there was a recipe that called for, you guessed it, frozen Brussels sprouts. It even required the amount I had for a half batch.
It doesn't require a lot of effort, just a ton of multitasking. What you do is fry some bacon and garlic in a big soup pot. I forgot to thaw bacon, so it's easily omitted. Then you add almost a cup of chicken stock, milk, rice, oregano, and salt and pepper. Bring this mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Then you add frozen peas and carrots. Again, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Meanwhile coarsely chop your partially thawed Brussels sprouts. Combine about half a cup of broth, salt and two cups water. Bring this liquid to a boil and add the Brussels sprouts. Return it to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender, 10 minutes. Then you add the contents of the pot to the rice mixture. Stir in three eighths of a cup of Parmesan cheese, and serve with crackers.
Will liked it, but I wasn't all that fond of it. Call it me being my own worst critic, but that's just how I am. To me, it could have been so much better. I think this will require some extra tweaking for me to figure out exactly what I want to do to improve upon it.