Dinner in a Pumpkin

Don't you just love fall. The days are cool, nights are colder. The colors of nature on gorgeous and your garden is putting out it's best harvest. I just looooove fall. It's my favorite time of year to decorate, dress, be outdoors and cook. After the hiatus of summer on cooking, ok I cooked but not because I wanted too, but with fall it hits me again....to create culinary yumminess again.
Dinner in a pumpkin is one of the yummy treats of fall. It's like cooking in a crockpot only better! The aroma of fall wafting from your oven as a squash of orangey goodness filled with a curry delight. My taste buds are watering now as we talk about it. If you don't like curry it's okay, I will include a recipe below that is how I was first introduced to this autumnal goodness aka Dinner in a Pumpkin.

 Ingredients for Dinner in a Pumpkin curry style is: Pumpkin, whole kernel corn, water chestnuts, cooked rice, coconut milk, soy sauce, bell peppers-your color of choice, medium onion, garlic, chicken and 2 bricks of curry.

 First and foremost start your rice, it needs to be precooked to add to your pumpkin. Cut up your thawed chicken into bite size pieces and set aside. Dice the whole onion. Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a large sauce pan. Saute onion and garlic....

 Once your onions are translucent, add your chicken...

 Once your chicken is cooked through add both bricks of curry, breaking them into pieces for easier breakdown....

 Once your curry bricks are completely "melted" stir to coat chicken...

 Now add your coconut milk, make sure to shake the can well because it separates.....

 Add your soy sauce...turn off the heat and let sit for a few minutes...

Dice your peppers and drain your cans of corn and water chestnuts....

 Throw corn, water chestnuts, and peppers into a large bowl....

 Cut open your pumpkin like you are carving a Jack-o-Lantern and discard seeds, you want to keep the top to cook with...

 Add rice to the vegetable in the large bowl...mix

 Add chicken and curry mixture to the large bowl, mix....

 no seeds, pumpkin ready to go....

 once your vegetables, rice and chicken are mixed start scooping mixture into hollowed out pumpkin..If it seems a little dry add a little more milk-regular or coconut or soy sauce

yummmmm.

 Place the stem top back onto your pumpkin, you may need to trim the stem so it won't burn on your top element in the oven, grease the center of the cookie sheet and place pumpkin in the center...

 I had to take one rack out of my oven and place the other on the bottom rung...bake at 375 for 2-3 hours depending on pumpkin size...

 It comes out of the oven this beautiful shiny deep orange color... and the smell is amazing....

 the inside of the pumpkin is cooked to a deep yellow color and is completely edible..

 Scoop out generous helpings of curry mixture and pumpkin to eat....so warm and wholesome and just delicious!

We have added into our mixture,  bamboo shoots, green beans, peas, bean sprouts, and green pepper....everything is good and it just depends what you have in the fridge. This is the ultimate "casserole" for fall. I know what is for dinner tonight :)


Recipe:

Curry Dinner in a Pumpkin
1 medium pumpkin
1 medium onion-diced
2 cloves garlic 
2 tbsp butter
2 large bell peppers color of choice-diced
1 can of sliced water chestnuts-drained
1 can of whole kernel corn-drained
2 golden curry bricks- 3.5oz
1 can coconut milk-shaken
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 cups cooked rice
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts-cut into bite size pieces

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook rice. Hollow out your pumpkin, keeping stemmed top for a lid. Lightly grease a 10 inch circle on a cookie sheet. In a hot skillet melt 2 tbsp butter and saute garlic and onions until onions are translucent. Add chicken. Once chicken is cooked through add both bricks of curry, broken up for easy dissolving. Stir mixture. Add can of coconut milk. Mix well. Add soy sauce and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl combine, corn, water chestnuts, peppers and rice. Mix well, add chicken mixture and mix until all is coated with curry. Spoon curry mixture into your hollowed out pumpkin. Replace top on pumpkin. Place pumpkin on cookie sheet and place on the bottom rack of your oven. Cook 2-3 hours or until pumpkin scoops easily away from the side.
To serve scoop pumpkin and curry mixture together. Lightly salt and pepper to taste.

Dinner in a Pumpkin-non curry style
1 medium pumpkin
1-2 lbs hamburger
1 tsp salt
1 can sliced water chestnuts
1 can bamboo shoots
1 can corn
3/4 cup mushrooms
1 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 cups cooked rice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook rice. Hollow out your pumpkin, keeping stemmed top for a lid. Lightly grease a 10 inch circle on a cookie sheet. In a skillet brown hamburger. Set aside
In a large mixing bowl combine, corn, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, cream of mushroom soup, soy sauce, brown sugar, salt and rice. Mix well, add hamburger and mix. Spoon mixture into your hollowed out pumpkin. Replace top on pumpkin. Place pumpkin on cookie sheet and place on the bottom rack of your oven. Cook 2-3 hours or until pumpkin scoops easily away from the side.
To serve scoop pumpkin and curry mixture together. Lightly salt and pepper to taste.