Stuffed Pumpkin Recipe for an Easy Fall Dinner!

Here is a recipe I make every year for family and friends. I got it from my friend Sandy F. when we lived in Jacksonville, FL. It was a family recipe from growing up Rhode Island. Her family made every year to celebrate Fall. I thought I would share this with all of you.

It makes lots of food and it's easy to put together. Put it together early then pop it in the oven for at least an hour (sometimes 2 hrs). Invite your neighbors over and let the kids play outside in this gorgeous October weather while the pumpkin cooks. It makes your house smell yummy. I've made it twice already this fall for two different groups of friends. The leftovers are good too.

TIP: If you are inviting over picky eaters, reserve some extra ground meat for hamburgers to cook on the grill.

Stuffed Pumpkin Recipe
Ingredients:
Pumpkin - Buy a pumpkin at the grocery store or at a pumpkin patch. Look for a good size that will fit in your oven with the stem (usually medium size works).
1 med Onion
2 lb ground turkey OR 1 lb ground pork & 1 lb ground beef
1 Cup Chopped Celery (optional)
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 Tbsp Poultry Seasoning
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1 Cup Plain Bread Crumbs

Directions:
Cut the top off the pumpkin and reserve. Scoop out the seeds and veins of pumpkin (like you would to carve it).
Precook in microwave 5-10 minutes until it starts to soften (this helps reduce the oven time)

Fry 1 chopped onion until brown
add ground meat and cook until brown
add 1 cup water (reduce water w/ reduced meat)& 1 cup chopped celery (optional). Cook until celery is done. Remove from heat.

Add 1 T. poultry seasoning, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, & 1 C bread crumbs. Mix.

Once cool, stuff mixture into pumpkin. Place top on pumpkin and put it on a foil covered cookie sheet to prevent dripping.
Bake at 350 degrees until done (1-2 hours). Done when pumpkin is brown and very soft.
Serve in pumpkin or in serving bowls. For serving bowls, scoop out the meat into one dish and the flesh of the pumpkin into another. Serve also with rice (our preference), mashed potatoes, or any vegetable.

ENJOY! Candace

Trick or Treat for UNICEF

My kids and I are planning to Trick or Treat for UNICEF this year. My husband and I both collected for UNICEF as children. We want to pass this giving spirit onto our children. I've ordered a few of the orange UNICEF boxes for my kids and the neighborhood kids so that they can participate too.

Here's a link to get your own box http://youth.unicefusa.org/trickortreat/.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Patches

Thank you to my friend Diane of www.petsofgeorgia.com. She gave me a link for Pumpkin Patches by County. Here it is http://www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org/GAEJpumpkins.php. Most of the places listed for Fayette, Henry and Coweta counties were already on LocalKidFun.com. You can find them on either on the Events Calendar or in the Seasonal Activities page under Fall Fun. The Pumpkin Patches site is nice though if you are venturing out of our area either within GA or elsewhere in the US.

My family is heading up to Connecticut this weekend. We'll be going to our favorite pumpkin patch in CT, Jones Family Farms. If I didn't already know about this farm though, I'd check the Pumpkin Patch site. Just in case, I did check and Jones Farm is listed 2nd on the CT page.

Hope this helps those of you in search of the "Great Pumpkin"!