Dinner in a Pumpkin

A fun Halloween and Autumn dinner. Make sure you scrap out all the tender pumpkin to eat with the dinner. It is delicious with all the flavoring.

Ingredients
1 small/medium pumpkin (pie pumpkins usually work best)
1 cup diced onion
1 1/2 - 2 lbs ground beef
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 can (10 3/4 oz) Cream of Chicken soup
1 - 1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 can (8 oz) water chestnuts, drained
1/4 teaspoon pepper
*These ingredients are very forgiving. You can add different amounts to fit personal tastes (for example I often use very little meat and more rice). Also it works well with lite, low fat and low sodium products.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Cut pumpkin open like you would when making a jack-o-lantern
2. Clean out pumpkin, saving seeds if you want to use them later
3. Parboil or steam the pumpkin for 5 -10 minutes depending on size of pumpkin.
4. Brown meat in a pan. Drain. Add onions and saute till slightly tender
5. Combine meat/onion mixture with other ingredients and mix well.
6. Fill the pumpkin with mixture and place in baking pan that is lined with tin foil. Don't skip the tin foil and put the lid back on the pumpkin. Add a face to the pumpkin with a black marker if you would like to do so.
7. Bake for 2 hours at 350 degrees or until the pumpkin inside is tender.

Pumpkin Seeds

Cooking your pumpkin seeds is a great way to use all the seeds left from Halloween, Autumn and Thanksgiving fun. Pumpkin seeds are actually very nutritional. They are high in many nutrients including zinc, vitamin K, protein, manganese, iron, omega-3 fatty acids and many others. They have also been found to have anti-inflammatory properties, help lower cholesterol and promote prostate health. No wonder we find them in so many granola bars and cereals.

Ingredients:
Salt Water
2 1/2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
*This recipe may be doubled or cut in half depending on your own personal taste

Directions:
(optional step - this helps with flavor and makes the seeds a little more crispy)
Soak the seeds in salt water for an hour or two. Spread out and allow the seeds to dry overnight.

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees
2. Mix all the ingredients except pumpkin seeds. Add pumpkin seeds to mixture and mix thoroughly. You can let it stand for a few minutes if you like.
3. Place seeds in a shallow baking dish lightly sprayed with cooking spray.
4. Cook between 45 minutes and an hour depending on number of seeds and personal taste. Stirring occasionally while baking.