The Great Pumpkin Stew


Submitted By: Marie Delffs

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
  • 1 cup water
  • 3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 4 carrots, sliced
  • 1 green pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 2 tablespoons beef bouillon granules or 2 cubes
  • 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 (10- to 12-pound) pumpkin
  • Instructions


    Brown the beef in 2 tablespoons of the oil in a Dutch oven or large kettle. Add water, potatoes, carrots, green pepper, garlic, onion, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Simmer, covered, for two hours. Stir in beef bouillon and tomatoes; turn off heat.
    Wash the pumpkin and cut out an 8-inch circle around the stem. Remove the top, clean it, and set aside. Clean out the pumpkin, discarding the seeds and fibers.
    Place the pumpkin in a shallow, sturdy baking pan. Spoon the stew into the pumpkin and replace the top. Brush the outside of the pumpkin with remaining oil. Bake at 325° for two hours or just until the pumpkin is tender. Do not overbake or the pumpkin will become too soft and begin to split open.
    Serve stew from the pumpkin, scooping out bits of pumpkin with each serving.
    Yield: Eight to 10 servings.
    Note: Consider serving the stew in small, individual-sized, hollowed-out pumpkins.