Look who’s coming to dinner….

If you’re looking for a great dinner guest this Halloween, I’ve got you covered. He’s quiet, a great listener, an excellent conversation piece, and to top it off, quite tasty! If you haven’t figured it out yet from the pictures, I am talking about Mr. Pumpkin or, Mrs. Pumpkin if you prefer. (They are both very nice.)

My mom came across this dinner in a pumpkin recipe when I was in  middle school, and I have loved it ever since. My favorite memory of having dinner in a pumpkin was about six years ago. That particular Halloween was  memorable for many reasons. I had just started dating my husband, had broken my knee  two weeks earlier and my brother was getting married the next day. My whole family was in Logan, Utah for the wedding (where I happened to be attending USU). This of course meant it was freezing cold and SNOWING, as is typical Halloween weather in Northern Utah. On her way to my apartment my mom got a flat tire. My cute hubby (not even quite boyfriend at the time) went out in the snow to fix it for her. That got him LOTS of points, and I thought it was  pretty nice too. She made us dinner in a pumpkin. It tasted so good! It was the perfect warm meal for such a cold night. Why is it that things always taste better when someone else makes them?

Enough with the  walk down memory lane, let me tell you how it’s done.

1 small-medium pumpkin (about the size of a volleyball)

1-1/2 lb. ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

2 Tbsp oil

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 can sliced mushrooms

1 small can cream of chicken soup

1-1/2 cup  cooked rice ( I used 2)

1 can sliced water chestnuts (drained)

*Next time I make this I might try adding a little chopped green pepper, and/or celery, or substituting sausage for some of the ground beef.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Wash the outer surface of the pumpkin thoroughly. Cut a circle off the top just like you would if you were making a jack-o-lantern. Remember to put your knife on slant when cutting the top. If you cut it straight up and down the lid will fall into the pumpkin while it is cooking. Clean out all of the seeds and stringy pulp. (I like to save the seeds and roast them later for a healthy snack.) Clean out the pumpkin and rinse it well. Set it aside.

Heat two tablespoons oil in sauce pan. Add groundbeef and chopped onion. If you want to try adding a little green pepper or celery, put that in at this time as well. Once the meat is browned add the brown sugar, soy sauce, cream of chicken soup, mushrooms, cooked rice and water chestnuts. Mix well.

Place the cleaned pumpkin in a 9×13 baking dish or on a cookie sheet. Scoop mixture into the pumpkin and put the pumpkin’s top back on.  At this point you can draw a jack-o-lantern face on your pumpkin if you would like.  Place the stuffed pumpkin in a 350 degree oven and cook for 1-2 hours. Check after one hour. The cooking time will vary due to the size of your pumpkin. You will know it is done when the pumpkin is very tender and your casserole is bubbling all the way through. You can serve this however you want. We like to put chow mein crunchy noodles on top and a little more soy sauce.  The pumpkin is edible too, so scrap a little of the edge when you are dishing it up.

If  your Halloween is going to be as crazy as mine you probably won’t have time for anything more involved then a run to Wendy’s.  May I suggest making this special dinner a day or two before Halloween and then doing something fun as a family afterwards.  A spooky neighborhood walk in the dark with flashlights would be fun, or hand dipping some delicious carmel apples….like these……

For the down low on how I made these, check out my blog Loves to Eat. Loves to Cook,  it will be getting a face lift soon, Destri has kept me a little preoccupied (wink), and I promise to start taking pictures of my recipes. The blog, like me, is a work in progress.

I found these cute little guys over on m.writes, and I think they are the perfect “I have to take something to the neighbors last minute, cause they brought something over for me”  cookie.  Marta has more on that over on the lovely step by step tutorial.  She also has a cute little two dollar download for a tag that’s sure to make you look good to the neighbors.  Speaking of Marta, she will be our feature on The Bullet List this weekend so you won’t want to miss it, trust me.

Also, If you have never seen One Charming Blog check it out. She has some really fun ideas for parties.