by Diamond Channing

Created on: May 25, 2010

This recipe for "Dinner in a Pumpkin" is absolutely delicious. It is also spectacular looking on the dinner table and a real conversation piece. You can not go wrong with this Halloween dinner recipe.

The ingredients you will need to have to make "Dinner in a Pumpkin" are:

One 4 pound well-rounded pumpkin.

1 1/2 pounds of lean ground beef or ground sirloin

1/3 cup of chopped bell pepper (green)

3/4 cup of chopped celery

3/4 cup of chopped onion

1 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of black pepper

1/4 cup of soy sauce

2 tablespoons of light brown sugar ( not packed )

1- 4 ounce can of whole or sliced mushrooms

1 - can of cream of chicken soup

2 cups of cooked white or brown rice

Black olives (whole)

One steamed carrot

Whole cloves

Fresh parsley leaves

Directions:

Cut a lid from the pumpkin. Remove all of the seeds and excess membrane. With a scraping tool remove the remaining membrane from the inside sides of the pumpkin. In a large size skillet, combine the ground beef or ground sirloin, chopped bell pepper, chopped celery, and the chopped onion. Cook on medium heat until the the beef is browned. Add the next seven ingredients to the browned beef in the skillet. Mix it well and place the mixture into the pumpkin opening. Put the lid on the pumpkin. Put the pumpkin on a foil lined cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet into the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Prior to serving it, embellish the pumpkin by placing toothpicks into 2 black whole olives to make the eyes. You can cut a piece out of the area on the pumpkin where you will place the carrot to act as the nose. You can also peel the carrot to have a pointy tip if you desire. Use your imagination. Use the whole cloves to make any shaped mouth you like. Simply poke them into the pumpkins skin. With the parsley leaves make hair around the lids opening. To serve it, scoop out part of the baked pumpkin with the meat mixture on each plate. Place the pumpkin on the table.

This is very attractive on a table where the settings are Halloween themed. Use your imagination and make it extra special. This is a meal that kids and adults enjoy. Serve it with an Italian bread and a fresh garden salad. 

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