Pumpkin Stew

I thought I would kick off my food blog with a  great fall recipe......Pumpkin Stew! This stew is so yummy and very filling......if you don't like pumpkin you could still use the recipe just omit the pumpkin.....

Pumpkin Stew/Soup:

1 large pumpkin: open the top and clean out all seeds and strings. Rinse and cut about 2 cups of pumpkin from the shell....be sure and not cut a hole in the sides of the pumpkin....or remove too much flesh....the sides need to be stable while it cooks.

2 large cans of chicken broth

1 large yellow onion coarsely chopped

3 large carrots chopped or two cups baby carrots

1 large can pinto beans drained and rinsed

1 can sliced white potatoes drained and rinsed

3 stalks of celery chopped (you can use less if you don't like celery)

1 stick of butter

2 cloves of garlic crushed

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked and shredded

salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon cumin-this gives a nice smokey flavor you can omit this if you like

Heat oven to 400 degrees F while you prepare the soup.....when you put the pumpkin in the oven turn the heat down to 350 degrees for 45 minutes......

In a large dutch oven melt butter, add onion and celery and cook until translucent. Add all other ingredients and bring to boil...let simmer for 15 minutes......pour into the prepared pumpkin and place the back onto the top.....place on baking sheet.......rub olive oil or vegetable oil on the outside of the pumpkin and place in the over for 45 minutes or until the inside of the pumpkin is soft......when you check to see if it is done make sure you do not poke a hole through the pumpkin or your juice will drain out....I usually put my pumpkin in a roasting pan to cook just in case it springs a leak...so far I have never had that problem......remove the lid and dip out the soup scraping the sides if you want more pumpkin in your bowl......this soup is very good on a cold or rainy day.........add a green salad and some rolls or cheddar cheese and garlic biscuits and you are good to go........

I have also added ground chuck, leftover grilled steak and it just tastes heavenly.....if you try the recipe let me know how it turned out for you.....or if you tweak it so I can try it also.... 

printable recipe

Until next time,

Wendy