Recipe Share: Stew in a Pumpkin

In the spirit of the holiday, I thought I'd share a pumpkin stew recipe. If your front porch pumpkin is still fresh enough, here's a good way to use it after Halloween.

photo from Taste of Home.com

Pumpkin Stew
10-12 lb pumpkin
2 lb stew meat, cut into 1" cubes
3 Tbsp cooking oil, divided
1 c water
5 medium red potatoes, cut into 1" cubes
4 medium carrots, sliced
1 green pepper, cut into 1/2" pieces
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp beef bullion granules
1 14.5 oz can tomatoes, undrained and cut up
(maybe add another 1/2 can too?)

Brown meat in 2 Tbsp of oil. Add water, potatoes, carrots, green pepper, garlic, onion, salt & pepper. Cover and simmer 2 hours. Stir in bullion & tomatoes; Taste test and make adjustments as desired. Wash pumpkin and cute a 6-8" circle around top stem; remove seeds and fibers. Place pumpkin in a sturdy shallow baking pan. Spoon stew into pumpkin and replace top. Brush outside of pumpkin with oil. Bake at 325 for 2 or more hours, until pumpkin is tender inside. Do not over cook or undercook.
Serve stew in pumpkin shell, scooping out some of the sides of the pumpkin with each serving.
Serves 8-10.

Be forewarned I've only made this once, and I don't remember if it was great or mediocre. But it's a fun idea to play with.