Dinner in a Pumpkin

This recipe was published in the Post-Dispatch several years ago. This is a fun way to serve supper to your family on Halloween. Get the kids involved with the preparation. From the kitchen of Tona Thornburg Court, Bridgeton MO.

• Ready In: 2 hrs
• Serves: 6
• Yields: 1 casserole

Ingredients

• 1  medium pumpkin
• 1  onion, chopped
• 2  tablespoons  vegetable oil
• 2  lbs ground beef
• 2  tablespoons soy sauce
• 2  tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 (4 ounce) can  sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1 (10 3/4ounce) can  cream of chicken soup
• 1 1⁄2 cups cooked rice
• 1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained (optional)

Directions

1. Cut off the top of the pumpkin and thoroughly clean out seeds. Paint an appropriate face on the front of the pumpkin with a permanent marking pen or acrylic paint. Set pumpkin shell aside.
2. Saute onion in oil in a large skillet until tender. Add beef; cook until browned. Drain and discard grease from skillet. Stir the soy sauce, brown sugar, mushrooms and soup into the meat mixture.
3. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cooked rice and water chestnuts. Spoon mixture into the cleaned pumpkin shell; replace pumpkin top.
4. Place entire pumpkin, with meat mixture inside, on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 1 hour, or until inside flesh of pumpkin is tender.
5. Put pumpkin on a serving plate, remove top and serve meal from pumpkin. For the begetable, scoop out cooked pumpkin and serve.