A Fall Tradition

Every Fall, I look forward to Dinner in a Pumpkin. Jackson helped me this year, so of course, our pumpkin had to have a face! We didn't carve all the way through, just the top layer.




Dinner in a Pumpkin
from The Country Register

Ingredients:
1 small to medium pumpkin
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 chopped onion
Fresh garlic (if desired)
1 1/2 to 2 lbs. Ground beef
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained
Crunchy Chinese noodles



I've been making this recipe for the last 8 or 9 years. I've learned through trial & error, you have to put the pumpkin in a pan, and on a cookie sheet, or you will have a mess!



Jackson counted the seeds that came out of the pumpkin while we waited. He lost count and restarted several times. I tried to teach him about estimations, but he wasn't interested...

Directions:
1.Cut off the top of pumpkin and thoroughly clean out seeds and pulp.
2.Preheat oven to 350 degree.
In a large skillet, saute’ onions and garlic in oil until tender. Add hamburger and brown. Drain drippings from skillet.
3.Add soy sauce, brown sugar, mushrooms and soup. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cooked rice and water chestnuts.
4.Spoon mixture into the cleaned pumpkin shell. Replace pumpkin top and place filled pumpkin on a baking sheet. Bake 1 hour, or until pumpkin
is tender. (It may take up to 2 hours depending on the size of your pumpkin.)
5.Vanessa’s adaptation: Omit the brown sugar and add a can of cream of mushroom soup. Add caraway seeds. Serve over crunchy Chinese noodles.

K.C. and the guys wanted something more 'manly' than Dinner in a Pumpkin. K.C. made Tony Roma-style baby back ribs and pork chops. This is a 'man's dinner!'