Dinner in a Pumpkin

Dude, I swear half the time I make this dish is because it's just so PRETTY coming out of the oven.

And what a concept! A casserole, baked in a pumpkin instead of a boring old casserole dish! It's really a fun thing to do this time of year. My kids love the novelty of it. I've made this in regular-sized pumpkins, pie pumpkins, and even in those gorgeous, stripey, spotty squash. When you scoop it out to serve it, you can dig deep and bring some cooked pumpkin out with the casserole, or if you don't like it, just dig more shallowly to scoop it out and serve it. I made it tonight with pie pumpkins.

Oh, and I got this recipe from my dear friend and old college roommate, Carrie. Love ya, Care.

Dinner in a Pumpkin

Ingredients:
1 medium pumpkin, or 4 pie pumpkins, or as many little upright squashes you like. As long as it can sit up by itself, you're good.
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
4 cups tomato juice
3 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 lb. fresh green beans, steamed
3 cups pre-cooked rice

Directions:
1. Wash, scrape pumpkin.
2. Cook hamburger, onion, and garlic in a skillet.
3. Add sugar, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, tomato juice, and rice.
4. Layer in pumpkin: one-third of the cabbage, one-third of the green beans, and one-third of the beef mixture. Repeat two more times, or until your pumpkin is full.
5. Replace lids and cook on 350 degrees for two to three hours.