What's For Dinner?

 

Last Fall I saw a recipe for a stuffed pumpkin filled with ground beef and lots of other tasty fillings. Now that it is the perfect time of year to eat a stuffed pumpkin I can’t find the same recipe I had seen. Instead, I put together the foods I think would taste best in a stuffed pumpkin and it was good!

Preheat: 350 F

Prep:

Wash the outside of the pumpkin and cut the top off for a nice bowl shape. Keep the lid of the pumpkin for later. Clean out the inside and give it a quick rinse. Remember the pumpkin seeds can be toasted or even dried for planting next year. Rub butter on the inside of the pumpkin until coated. Add a tablespoon of raw sugar and one of cinnamon inside and rub it into the buttered sides and bottom.

Buttered pumpkin with cinnamon and raw sugar

Wash veggies, then peel and dice them. Start with the carrots so they can be put to steam while prepping the other veggies. Sauté the mushrooms, peppers and onions in a large pan and add the carrots once they soften.

Mix the ground beef and sausage together adding garlic powder and pepper to taste. Brown the meat until it is cooked and stir in the vegetables. Spoon the mixture into the pumpkin including the gravy. Place the pumpkin on a large glass pan to catch any spills and help move it into the oven with ease. Be sure to cook the pumpkin with the top on so that it traps the condensation and juices, helping to cook the pumpkin quicker. If the pumpkin is tall this will require using the bottom rack in the oven.

Bake at 350 F for an hour.

If after an hour the pumpkin isn’t soft enough to eat yet, toss it back in for another 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the top of the pumpkin to dry up the delicious inside if it looks too wet. Once ready pull it out of the oven and serve straight from the pumpkin.

It’s a delicious meal and festive platter all in one!



Stuffed pumpkin served with wild rice and biscuit

Lovely Link Ups: Eat. Make. Grow., Mercantile Muse, Little House in the Suburb, The Glamorous Housewife, Real Food Freaks, Craft Berry Bush, Parlo & Logi, 52 Mantels