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Wednesday, October 18, 2023

DINNER IN A PUMPKIN AND ORANGE JELLO SALAD RECIPE


DINNER IN A PUMPKIN

Hello!  Thanks for stopping by and seeing what is new.  Today, with Halloween almost upon us, I wanted to share a recipe that has been a family tradition for us for almost 30 years.  Even today, my adult children who are nearby ask if I am going to make the pumpkin dinner on Halloween!
When my children were young, I made this dinner so it was ready before they were heading out to Trick or Treat.  They had to have a good dinner before rounding up all that candy!  I served the Dinner in a Pumpkin, green beans and an Orange Jello Salad before the kids set out with Dad (usually, I got to hand out candy and stay home with the baby).  I never had a problem getting them to eat this delicious meal.  What is a plus also is the "dinner" is cooked in the pumpkin in the oven and you can scoop out the flesh of the pumpkin for added nutrition and fiber, too.  

First, you want to select a small to medium-sized pumpkin--I always used a medium-sized as I had several kids to feed at once.  Make a "lid" by cutting off the top of the pumpkin (yeah, just like when you cut your Jack O'Lantern) and then scoop all the seeds and fibrous material out.  I rinse my pumpkin out at that time, just because I am weird, I suppose, plus it gets any odd stringy parts out, too.
Next, paint with acrylic paints or a Sharpie a face or design on your pumpkin.  The acrylic paint or a permanent marker will stand up to the heat in the oven.


Here are the ingredients for the Dinner in the Pumpkin:

Pumpkin as above
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 to 2 pounds ground beef
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 or 2 four ounce cans of sliced mushrooms, drained
1 can cream of chicken soup (10 3/4 oz.)
1 1/2 to 2 cups COOKED rice
1 eight ounce can water chestnuts, drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In large skillet, sauté onions in small amount vegetable oil.  Add ground beef and brown.  Drain fat from meat or rinse with water and return to skillet.  Add soy sauce, brown sugar, mushrooms, and soup--simmer all for 10 minutes.  Add cooked rice and water chestnuts and stir to mix.  Spoon all into clean pumpkin shell.  Place lid on top and place pumpkin on foil-covered baking sheet, place in oven and bake for approximately one hour or until the "meat" of the pumpkin is tender and can be scooped out.












Orange Jello Salad

One 9 ounce container Cool Whip
One 3 ounce package orange Jello, DRY
One small can mandarin orange sections, drained
One cup cottage cheese
2 cups miniature marshmallows
Lightly fold all ingredients in, chill in refrigerator until ready to serve. 

Happy Halloween to all!



3 comments:

  1. This dish sounds absolutely delicious! And the orange Jello salad sounds amazing. Thank you so much for sharing it with us at the Crazy Little Love Birds link party #10.

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  2. Love the meat part of your recipe, as I am not a big pumpkin fan, but will make this filling for sure.
    I visited you via Let's Dare to Share!
    I linked up this week with = 32+32. Come and join us Mon - Saturday at SeniorSalonPitStop. You will find the linkup information under BLOGGING.

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  3. Halloween is one of the most passionately celebrated festivals in the world and million of people around the globe try to make something unique with their respective skills. Students are largely interested in this event as they get the opportunity to use their creative abilities. Therefore, they hire assignment writers in UAE to finish all the projects before Halloween so they can freely focus on making a unique-looking pumpkin to attract the attention of other people.

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