Impress your family and friends with afestive fall dinner— soup served in a pumpkin!

When I worked for Food $ense a few years ago we stumbled across what has become one of my favorite fall recipes , dinner in a pumpkin.  It is best to use a cooking pumpkin for these types of recipes.

Dinner in a Pumpkin

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 cup water
• 3 potatoes, 1″ cubes
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 1 green pepper, 1/2″ slices
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper
• 2 T beef bouillon granules
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes
• 1 pumpkin (10-12 lbs.)

Directions:

In a medium pan, brown ground beef, rinse and drain.  Add beef back to pan and add water, potatoes, carrots, green pepper, garlic, onion, salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer for 1 hour.  Stir in bouillon and add tomatoes

Wash pumpkin and cut an 8″ circle around the top stem.  Remove top and set aside.  Take out seeds and loose fibers from inside the pumpkin.  Place pumpkin in shallow pan.  Spoon beef mixture into pumpkin and replace stem.  Brush outside of pumpkin with olive oil.  Bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours or until the pumpkin is tender.  Serve by scooping out a little pumpkin with each serving.  

This article was written by Paige Wray, USU Extension Assistant Professor, San Juan County Family Consumer Sciences/4-H