Dinner in a Pumpkin

That picture looks kinda gross, but it's hamburger, mushrooms, soup, etc. and it's REALLY GOOD! I had my family come help us eat it (because I had a really big pumpkin & I doubled the recipe), and they really liked it too.

So, I thought that this would be really hard, but it only took 30 minutes to prep. It does take a long time to cook, but that gives you plenty of time to wash the dishes & set the table! It's a fun once-a-year meal. It really makes it feel like fall!
1 sm. - med. pumpkin
2Tbls. vegetable oil
2 Tbls. oil
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2-2 lbs. ground beef
1 (4 oz.) can sliced mushrooms, drained (I used fresh)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 (8 oz.) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 1/2 c. cooked rice
Start rice first. While that is cooking, cut off top of pumpkin & thoroughly clean out seeds & pulp. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, saute onions in oil until tender. Add meat & brown. Drain drippings from skillet. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, mushrooms, & soup. Simmer 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cooked rice & water chestnuts. Spoon mixture into the cleaned pumpkin shell. Replace pumpkin top adn wrap foil around stem so it won't burn. Place the entire pumpkin on a cookie sheet. Bake 1 1/2 -2 hours or until inside meat of the pumpkin is tender. Put pumpkin on a plate. Remove pumpkin lid & serve meat. For your vegetable scoop out cooked pumpkin, add some butter, salt & pepper, and serve!

Michele