Pumpkin baked beef stew

It's that time of year when pumpkin starts invading any and all other foods, even in the most unsuspecting places, pumpkin bread, pies, muffins, lattes, pasta, ice cream, beer, where does the madness end...? Well if I had it my way, it never would.  Everything is better with a little pumpkin! 
Well now I think I've jumped off the pumpkin deep end.  This innovative squash recipe comes from a family friend who's entire family looks forward to the fall season because it means one thing: Pumpkin baked beef stew... you heard that correctly, it's beef stew, IN A PUMPKIN!  It's like the modern day peanut butter and jelly, a culinary match made in heaven!! Now it's time for you to hop on the pumpkin bandwagon.  Although somewhat labor intensive, it's quite simple in terms of culinary talent-- and it makes for a great presentation!  This was my first go around at beef stew and with some coaching from my mom, I think it came out great.  I definitely would not hesitate to make this recipe again real soon.  Loaded with seasonal veggies and very hearty, this filling recipe can feed an army at a very reasonable price. 

Pumpkin baked Beef Stew (serves...a TLC sized family)
1 medium-large pumpkin (make sure you can fit it in your oven and you can lift it)
2 tbsp margarine
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb stewing beef
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 bag carrots 
5 medium potatoes 
1/2 large or 1 small turnip 
1 large yellow onion
1-2 cups green beans
5 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 tsp cinnamon (use a cinnamon stick or two if you have them around)
water


You can either make this a two day event, or it you have a whole day to spend in the kitchen, you can knock it out in one fell swoop.  Use any veggies you like, I stuck with the classics.  Start by prepping all your veggies, rinsing, peeling and chopping.  You don't want to cut them too small because they'll cook down.  Chop the turnip and potatoes in equal size pieces, slice the carrots, cut the green beans about 1 inch thick, and chop the onions.  Set aside.

First, flour the beef.  Add the flour to a shallow dish or plate.  Drop each piece of meat into the flour, shaking off any excess.  The flour will coat the meat when you brown it, and will help add a little bit of thickness to the broth.

Now that all the meat is floured, heat the 2 tbsp oil in a large pot on medium heat. Make sure you have an ample pot to cook with, I unfortunately made the mistake of using a pot too small and had to transfer to the crock pot midway through, avoid this extra step!  Once the oil is hot, add the meat.  You don't want to cook it all the way through, just brown it up, flipping it after a few minutes. 

 Once the meat starts to brown, turn the temp down a little and add the onion, stirring frequently.  I add the onions first to maximize the flavor.

 Now add the vegetables in order of hardness, turnip, carrots, green beans, and lastly the potatoes.  You want to add the potatoes last because the starch will break down if they're overcooked.  Mix the vegetables as you add them, and next add the water. Fill it as high as the veggies & meat in the pot.  

 Once the broth is hot, add the bouillon cubes... depending on how much water you add will determine how many you need.  Add three to start, stir and taste then go from there.  Next add the cinnamon.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the hardest vegetables are tender (1-2 hours).  Now you can either call it Christmas and store the beef stew in the fridge for a night, or power through and continue the recipe (but this is a great stopping point).

Start buy cutting the top off your pumpkin and clean out the insides, use a sturdy soon to get out as much of the stringy inside as you can.  Save the seeds to make pumpkin seeds to snack on later (spray a pan, sprinkle with salt bake on 400 degrees til brown, flippin' em half way through)!  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, make sure you move the rack to the lowest possible position and take any extra racks out that might get in the way.  Next add equal parts margarine and brown sugar to a small pan to melt.  then add the mix to the pumpkin-- pick the pumpkin up and whirl it around to coat the sides evenly. 

Place the pumpkin in a baking dish or on a strong baking sheet, something that will make it easier to handle a very hot and very heavy pumpkin (not an easy feat).  Add the HOT stew to the pumpkin.  If you refrigerated the stew overnight, heat it up first, then add it to the pumpkin before you bake it to make sure everything is heated evenly throughout.  The safest/easiest way to do this is by spooning all of the solid stew then pouring in the liquid.  Bake it in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour.  

Another option to this recipe is to buy smaller personal pumpkins, especially if you are having a dinner party.  Each guest will be able to enjoy there own special bowl, and what a nutritious alternative to the carb-heavy bread bowl!! This is definitely a MUST-TRY recipe, enjoy :)