Stuffed Pumpkins

Serves 4 
May seem like a lot of ingredients but this recipe is VERY easy. Just takes a little time to prepare the pumpkin. The list of ingredients below can be changed according to your choice of flavors or what you have in your kitchen, too. Have fun with it!

Ingredients

  • 4 sugar pumpkins (or 1 large pumpkin), with top and seeds removed
  • 4 slices of bacon, finely chopped
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 carrots, diced small
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ cup pine nuts
  • 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
  • ½ cup currants (can substitute raisins or dried cranberries)
  • 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
  • 2 tbsp cumin
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • ¾ lb ground turkey (can substitute ground beef or ground chicken)
  • 1 cup cooked white rice

How-to

  1. Preheat oven to 400°
  2. Cut off the top of your pumpkins and remove the "guts" (seeds and pumpkin goo). Reserve the pumpkin tops and keep a mental note of which tops go with which pumpkins
  3. Cook the bacon in a heavy bottom pan. Remove and pat dry with paper towels. Mince into small pieces. Set aside. Leave the bacon fat in the pan
  4. Saute the onions on medium heat until the onions are translucent
  5. Add the ginger and garlic. Saute for 1 minute just to get the flavors in there
  6. Add the pine nuts and saute for 1 minute
  7. Add the carrots and saute for 1 minute
  8. Add the cumin and the ground turkey and cook through just until the meat is no longer pink. Break up the meat with the back of a wooden spoon as you cook it to keep it from clumping up. Don't overcook. Keep in mind it will roast in the oven for another 50 minutes
  9. Mix in the thyme, bacon, currants and white rice
  10. Add salt & pepper to taste
  11. Remove from heat and spoon into pumpkins to the top
  12. Rub olive oil all over the exterior of the pumpkins
  13. Roast pumpkins for 50 minutes at 400° or until you can easily insert a knife into the pumpkin