Dinner In A Pumpkin
This recipe is perfect for a post Halloween meal with the family because you can use your uncarved pumpkins for it!
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 medium pie or sugar baking pumpkin
- 1 Tablespoon oil
- 1 cup mushrooms sliced
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 1/2 pounds ground meat
- 1 can (8 ounces) water chestnuts sliced or diced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 can (10 ounces) cream of chicken soup
- 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 cups cooked brown rice
Instructions
- Wash hands with soap and water for 20 seconds.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Line a baking sheet with foil.
- Scrub the pumpkin with a clean vegetable brush under running water. Dry the outside of the pumpkin.
- Cut the top off the pumpkin; save the top. Clean out the seeds and fibrous strands. Place the pumpkin on the baking sheet.
- Place the mushrooms in a colander and rinse under cool running water, while shaking the colander to move the mushrooms around and release the dirt. Slice the mushrooms; set aside.
- Scrub the onion with a clean vegetable brush under running water. Dice the onion.
- In a large skillet, sauté onion and mushrooms in oil.
- Add ground meat and cook until no longer pink. Drain the fat from the meat.
- Wash the counter and utensils that touched the raw meat. Wash hands with soap and water after handling raw meat.
- Add water chestnuts, salt, and pepper.
- In a large bowl, mix soup, brown sugar, and soy sauce. Add ground meat mixture and cooked rice; stir well to combine.
- Empty bowl ingredients into the cleaned out pumpkin and replace pumpkin top. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minuteson the lower rack of the oven, or on the rack where the pumpkin can be most centered in the oven.
- After 1 hour and 15 minutes, remove the top and check the sides of the pumpkin for doneness. The outside of the pumpkin will turn a dark orange, and the inside of the pumpkin should be tender and easily scooped off the sides with a spoon. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the pumpkin.
- To serve, scoop off chunks of cooked pumpkin with the meat mixture.