Dinner in a pumpkin

This fun halloween/harvest dinner is an easy meal that adds to the festivity of the season. This recipe is an ultimately basic casserole, but pretty much any casserole can be good for this.

1 med pumpkin, about 6 pounds
1lb ground beef, browned
2-3 cups cooked rice
2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can water
1 can cut green beans, drained
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile clean seeds and strings out of pumpkin and decorate outside with permanent marker if desired. Mix casserole ingredients together and fill pumpkin. Bake on baking sheet with the pumpkin lid on the side (it will otherwise potentially fall into the pumpkin when it bakes) for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until pumpkin flesh is tender. Scoop out squash to go with the casserole. Yummy!

Cindy's Spanish Rice

I always have to call Cindy to get her to send me this recipe for her Spanish Rice. I have posted it on here mainly so I don't have to keep pestering her every few months when I realize that I have again lost the recipe. It is wonderful!

Preheat oven to 350
in oven proof pot, cook 3 slices of bacon, crumble, add 1 cup rice (and if you want some onion) and coat in bacon grease for couple minutes.

Add 1 can of diced tomatoes with peppers.
add 1 can chicken broth.
bring to boil. Once it boils put oven proof lid on it and into the oven for 25 minutes. Super easy.

DUTCH BABIES

This is a traditional Christmas and Birthday morning treat from my childhood, though we also often enjoyed it for dinner. Very simple and adaptable. Still one of my favorites. It is the most delicious when baked in a dutch oven, but works beautifully in a glass pan as well.

1/4 c. butter 3 eggs 3/4 c. milk 3/4 c. flour 3 TO 4 QUART PAN SIZE 1/3 c. butter 4 eggs 1 c. milk 1 c. flour 4 TO 4 1/2 QUART PAN SIZE 1/2 c. butter 5 eggs 1 1/4 c. milk 1 1/4 c. flour 4 1/2 TO 5 QUART PAN SIZE 1/2 c. butter 6 eggs 1 1/2 c. milk 1 1/2 c. flour Place the butter in the pan and set in a 425 degree oven. While the butter melts, mix the batter. Put eggs in blender or food processor and whirl for 1 minute. With motor running, add milk, then flour. Remove pan from oven and pour in batter. Bake until puffy and well browned (20 minutes). To serve, top with cinnamon and sugar, powdered sugar, nutmeg, syrup, fruit or anything you desire. Shown here with fried apples. Yum.

Hot Spam Sandwiches

This recipe is very kid friendly both for eating and making. Most people say, eww, gross-Spam. But this recipe has been in the Ashby family for three generations we all grew up on it and love it.

I didn't tell Mark it was Spam when I first served it to him when we were newlyweds, just in case. But he loved it from the first bite. I found out then too, that he doesn't have a problem with it anyway, so, here's to breaking down barriers and prejudices which might not exist after all!

We usually use hamburger buns because of the tradition of it, but we have used anything from hotdog buns to tortillas. We often grill them because it is faster and sometimes we don't have foil. So make it how you want. It's all good.


1 large can Spam shredded
1/2 pound shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp. mustard
3 Tbs sweet relish
1/3 cup mayo
1 package hamburger buns or 16 slices bread


Mix together all ingredients (except for the bread.....) and then evenly distribute amongst the buns or sandwich bread. Wrap each sandwich in aluminum foil and heat thoroughly at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Makes 8 generously filled sandwiches.

MmmMmmm appetizing.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive, peanut or sesame oil
1 pound ground turkey or chicken
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons finely minced ginger
2/3 cup Teriyaki Sauce Vegetables for filling: grated carrots, mung bean sprouts, sliced Radish, julienned cucumber
Boston lettuce leaves, rinsed and dried
Hoisin Sauce

Heat oil in a large skillet and brown ground turkey. Add garlic and ginger and saute briefly. Add teriyaki sauce and simmer for 10 minutes while preparing vegetables. Place filling and vegetables in center of a large platter, then surround with lettuce leaves. Serve with Hoisin sauce for dipping.

Nutrition
Per serving (about 10oz/292g-wt.): 250 calories (120 from fat), 14g total fat, 3g saturated fat, 21g protein, 8g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 4g sugar), 90mg cholesterol, 190mg sodium