PUMPKIN STEW JUST FOR YOU!

What to do with all of those leftover pumpkins? You won’t believe how easy, delicious, and fun to serve this recipe is. Watch the smiles as you pull the pumpkin out of the oven, take off the lid, and dish up some fantastic stew just right for a cool autumn day! I’m busy packing for my workshops this week, but here is a one pot/pumpkin dish I can prepare ahead of time. My husband only cooks eggs and popcorn, so he’ll have some good leftovers to eat while I’m gone.

PUMPKIN STEW

2 pounds beef stew cut into 1” cubes
3 TB oil
1 can beef broth
3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1” pieces
1 red or yellow pepper cut into ½” pieces

2 chopped carrots

4 garlic cloves minced
1 medium onion chopped
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
2 TB beef bouillon granules
1 can petite diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 pumpkin 10-12 pounds
In a Dutch oven, brown meat in 2 TB oil. Add beef broth, potatoes, carrots, pepper garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 2 hours. Stir in bouillon and tomatoes.

Wash pumpkin and cut 8” circle around the top stem. Remove top and set aside. Discard seeds and loosen fibers inside.

Place the pumpkin on a study baking pan. Spoon stew into the pumpkin and replace the top. Brush the outside of the pumpkin with remaining 1 TB oil. Bake at 325 for 1 ½ or 2 hours until pumpkin is tender.

Serve on noodles or rice if you desire. My husband loves mashed potatoes, so that’s how we like to eat it.

Come back tomorrow and I’ll have a recipe just right to make with your kiddles this month.

On the Road Again

If you live near Columbus, OH, Toledo, or Grand Rapids, go to sde.com to register for “Rock, Rhyme, Write, and Read” this week.

If you live in Chicagoland, I’ll be at McHenry College for the “Practical Ideas for the Child’s World
Early Childhood Educators Conference” on Saturday, November 15. For more information,
www.mchenry.edu/childhood.

Check out when Dr. Jean will be near you!