A Fall Dinner in a Pumpkin Recipe
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Do you love the fall season as much as we do? We love the leaves changing colors, and of course, pumpkin pie! If you’re looking for a dinner idea that will be perfect for your family this holiday season (and is also easy to clean up after!), then try dinner in a pumpkin. It’s an amazing dinner idea that makes your dinner table look festive AND delicious.
Today, we’ll give you some tips on how to make dinner in a pumpkin from start to finish so that you can enjoy all of those wonderful flavors of fall without any of the fuss or mess. I honestly think it is a perfect recipe for fall! It even makes for a fun idea as a Halloween night dinner.
**You can use ground turkey instead of ground beef — low sodium soy or soup, even brown rice instead of white, to make things a little healthier.
Easy Dinner in a Pumpkin
You will need:
- 1 medium pumpkin
- 2 lbs. hamburger
- 1 diced onion
- 2 stalks celery – diced
- 1/4 c soy sauce – that would be a tablespoon soy sauce times 4
- 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
- 1 4-oz can sliced mushrooms (drained)
- 1 can cream of chicken soup – you can use cream of celery soup if you want or even cream of mushroom soup.
- 2 cups hot cooked white rice
- optional: 1/2 diced green pepper
- optional: 1 can of sliced water chestnuts, coarsely chopped.
You will also want a large rimmed baking sheet
Dinner in a Pumpkin recipe:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
First, you want to cook your rice. I highly suggest REAL rice, not instant rice as the instant variety tends to get mushier in the final product. If you don’t know how to make the perfect cooked rice from scratch – here is a great video for you:
I would also skip the wild rice for this – as much as I love it, it will throw off the taste of this easy meal.
While the rice is cooking, let’s get that medium size pumpkin ready! Cut the top of the pumpkin to create a lid for the Jack o’lantern. On the outside of your pumpkin, paint on a face with a magic marker. (this makes it fun for the little people…not a necessary step)
Using an ice cream scoop, remove the inside of the pumpkin – the pumpkin seeds and pulp.
Get out a cutting board and start dicing your onions, celery, and /or bell peppers or water chestnuts.
In a large bowl, mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, onions, celery, mushrooms, and soup. When the rice is finished, add to the mixture in the bowl too.
It’s time to brown ground beef! Take your two pounds of meat and put it in a large skillet with a little salt and pepper. Over medium heat, cook it until you no longer see any pink. Drain the grease off.
Now, stir in your cooked-off ground beef. Your beef mixture is ready for stuffing that pumpkin with a hearty casserole!
How to cook dinner in a pumpkin
Spoon the mixture into the pumpkin. Place your little pumpkin on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and pop the top on it. Place that on the lower rack of the oven. Bake for 1 hour until the pumpkin itself is tender. You won’t believe how good the house smells when cooking pumpkin! You can set the entire pumpkin on the dinner table – simply scoop out to serve, making sure to scrape some of the insides of the pumpkin flesh to eat with it too!
How cool is that for a new family Halloween tradition? It makes for a fun meal this time of year.
Like our perfect fall meal idea? Try these:
- Easy Chicken Tater Tots Casserole For the InstantPot
- The Best Cornflake Potatoes Funeral Casserole Recipe Ever
- Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole Recipe
- Incredibly Tasty Bubble Up Pizza Casserole Has Only Five Ingredients
- Great Depression Recipes: Hearty 6 Layer Casserole
- Mouthwatering Ceasar Chicken Pasta Casserole Recipe
Dinner in a Pumpkin
A fun fall dinner idea for families!
Ingredients
- 1 medium size pumpkin
- 2 lbs ground meat
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 - 4oz jar sliced mushrooms
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 2 cups cooked rice
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
First, you want to cook your rice. I highly suggest REAL rice, not instant rice as the instant variety tends to get mushier in the final product. If you don't know how to make the perfect cooked rice from scratch - here is a great video for you:
I would also skip the wild rice for this - as much as I love it, it will throw off the taste of this easy meal.
While the rice is cooking, let's get that medium size pumpkin ready! Cut the top of the pumpkin to create a lid for the Jack o'lantern. On the outside of your pumpkin, paint on a face with a magic marker. (this makes it fun for the little people…not a necessary step)
Using an ice cream scoop, remove the inside of the pumpkin - the pumpkin seeds and pulp.
Get out a cutting board and start dicing your onions, celery, and /or bell peppers or water chestnuts.
In a large bowl, mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, onions, celery, mushrooms, and soup. When the rice is finished, add to the mixture in the bowl too.
It's time to brown ground beef! Take your two pounds of meat and put it in a large skillet. Over medium heat, cook it until you no longer see any pink. Drain the grease off.
Now, stir in your cooked-off ground beef. Your beef mixture is ready for stuffing that pumpkin with a hearty casserole!
Spoon the mixture into the pumpkin. Place your little pumpkin on a cookie sheet and pop the top on it. Place that on the lower rack of the oven. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees until the pumpkin itself is tender. You won't believe how good the house smells when cooking pumpkin! You can set the entire pumpkin on the dinner table - simply scoop out to serve, making sure to scrape some of the insides of the pumpkin flesh to eat with it too!
Notes
You can use ground turkey instead of ground beef — low sodium soy or
soup, even brown rice instead of white, to make things a little healthier.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 568Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 139mgSodium: 1092mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 2gSugar: 6gProtein: 45g
