Dinner in a Pumpkin

As you read in my previous posts, our Halloween was a little thrown off due to Hurricane Sandy. Fortunately, we were able to participate in our church's Trunk or Treat party the Friday before. I snapped this picture on my phone before we left the house that night.

Cinderella, a very healthy skeleton, and the Red Power Ranger

Sadly, this was the only picture I got of my kids in their costumes, but aren't they cute?

Last night I tried a new dinner idea, new to us anyway! One of my friends on facebook had mentioned making "dinner in a pumpkin." I thought that sounded interesting and googled it. I came across a five star rated recipe with common ingredients so decided to give a try. The original recipe was from allrecipes.com, titled Teri's Dinner in a Pumpkin Recipe, although I tweaked it for our tastes.

The result was a tasty casserole. The pumpkin was a little undercooked, so we didn't eat as much of it as I think we would have if it had been softer. But overall, it was a fun and yummy meal!

While cooking, the filling puffed up and pushed the lid of the pumpkin off!

Dinner in a Pumpkin
printable recipe
serves 4

1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb hot ground sausage
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice, divided
2 Tbsp brown sugar, divided
2 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup rice
1 medium sugar pumpkin
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can French-cut green beans
1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms (or a 4 oz can mushroom pieces and stems)

In a skillet, brown ground beef and sausage then drain. Add 1 Tbsp each of pumpkin pie spice and brown sugar, and the rice and chicken stock. Cover and cook at medium-low heat for about 20-25 minutes, or until rice is soft.

Preheat the oven to 400. Meanwhile, cut off the top of the pumpkin and save it. Remove the seeds and stringy pulp. Combine the rest of the sugar and pumpkin pie spice, and rub it into the sides and bottom of the inside of the pumpkin. 

Add mushroom soup, mushrooms, and green beans to meat and rice mixture and stir until well combined. Spoon into pumpkin. Place top on pumpkin and set on a baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour and 15-30 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender.

Serve hot with pieces of the pumpkin. Enjoy!