Dinner in a Pumpkin (Beef)

Ingredients

• 1 6-8# Pumpkin
• 1.5-2 # Ground Beef
• 1 medium Onion Diced
• 1-2 stalks Celery Sliced evenly at a diagonal
• 1 can Cream of Mushroom soup (condensed)
• seasoning as desired

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Rinse any garden dirt off your pumpkin, and towel dry. Cut stem down, if present. No stem is OK, but more than 3 or 4“ will burn in the oven. Cut a ~6“ circle in/around the top of your pumpkin. Hold your knife at about a 45 degree angle, as this will be your “lid,” and you want it to be able to sit on its “base.” Scrape the guts out, save the seeds to roast, if desired. Put the pumpkin in a baking dish that is slightly larger than the pumpkin itself.
3. Brown ground beef and onion. Add celery, stir and cook until celery starts to go clear. Add desired seasonings (salt, pepper, beef bouillon, etc. Be careful. You only need about half of what you’d normally use). Remove from heat and put the mixture in the prepared pumpkin. Pour the Cream of Mushroom soup over the ground beef mixture, and put the “lid” back on the pumpkin.
4. Bake your stuffed pumpkin for an hour or so. Remove from the oven; serve with rice or fresh bread. Let each person serve themselves, scooping out as much or as little pumpkin as they like.
5. To store leftovers (if there are any), replace the “lid,” cool, cover, and put the whole dish in the fridge. Warm individual servings in the microwave.
6. Optional variations: Add other vegetables, to taste. Substitute cubed chicken and cooked bacon for the ground beef. Serve in fresh bread bowls. Add 6-8oz. fresh sliced mushrooms. Get creative with garnish, especially for kids.