Little Pumpkins Stuffed With A Bean Stew Recipes

BEEF STEW IN A PUMPKIN

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, brown meat in 2 tablespoons oil.
• Add water, potatoes, carrots, green peppers, garlic, onion, salt, and pepper.
• Cover and simmer for 2 hours.
• Stir in bouillon and tomatoes.
• Wash pumpkin; cut a 6 to 8 inch circle around top stem.
• Remove top and set aside; discard seeds and loose fibers from inside.
• Place pumpkin in a shallow sturdy baking pan.
• Spoon stew into pumpkin and replace the top.
• Brush outside of pumpkin with remaining oil.
• Bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours or just until the pumpkin is tender (do not overbake).
• Serve stew from pumpkin, scooping out a little pumpkin with each serving.

STUFFED BABY PUMPKINS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash the pumpkins. With a small, sharp knife, remove the tops as if for a jack-o'-lantern. Scoop out the seeds and stringy insides with a spoon, leaving the flesh intact. Rinse, then rub with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper.
• Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat, then add the scallions and cook for a few minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute or so, until fragrant. Add the kale and cook until it just wilts, about 3 or 4 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the lemon juice and transfer to a bowl. Add the bread crumbs, cheese, pine nuts, nutmeg, red pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black peppers. Mix well, then stir in the cream.
• Divide the filling into the pumpkins and replace the tops. Rub a baking dish with olive oil and arrange the filled pumpkins in the dish.
• Bake for 1 hour, watching to make sure the tops don't brown too much. Test the pumpkins by piercing with a fork. If the skin doesn't pierce easily, remove the tops and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. Replace the tops and serve hot.

BLACK BEAN, CORN AND PUMPKIN STEW

Steps:

• Heat olive oil until hot. Add red pepper and saute for 5 minutes or until somewhat tender. Add the cumin seeds and saute a few seconds until you get a whiff of their aroma. Add garlic, oregano, cinnamon, cloves and paprika and saute for a few seconds or until aromatic. Add corn, winter squash, tomatoes with their juices, the broth and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until squash is almost tender. Add beans, cover and simmer another 5 to 10 minutes or until squash is completely tender. (If liquid seems to be evaporating too much, add more water.) Season to taste with salt and pepper and spoon over noodles. Garnish with jalapeno pepper and toasted sunflower seeds.

PUMPKIN STEW (COOKED IN THE PUMPKIN)

Steps:

• Carve a hole in the top of the pumpkin; remove seeds and stringy inside, then set the pumpkin aside.
• Brown the meat in a Dutch oven, then add all the cut up vegetables, salt, pepper, and water. Let simmer 1 hour.
• Place pumpkin in shallow baking pan. Fill with the stew mixture. Brush the sides of the pumpkin with oil and cook on 350°F for 2 hours or until the pumpkin is tender. Serve.
• Be sure to get chunks of pumpkin in your stew as you serve it--this enhances the flavor.