There are so many things you can do with pumpkins - carve them, make pumpkin cookies, pumpkin beer, pumpkin cheesecake (hmm, I have just listed my top 3 favorite things). But, you can also use them as a serving bowl.
Here in Boston the air is starting to get a bit more crisp, the autumn leaves are starting to fall off the trees, so it is the perfect time to make a big bowl of warm and spicy chili.
I went for the healthier option with ground turkey as well as the pumpkin bowl (you can eat the inside!). But you could also use ground beef, add some cheese and sour cream on top and some tortilla chips for dipping on the side. (if you really want to go big - use a bread bowl instead of a pumpkin bowl!).
Turkey Chili served in a Roasted Pumpkin
Ingredients:
- 2 small sugar pumpkins
- 2 lbs of ground turkey
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 medium green pepper, chopped
- 1 medium red pepper, chopped
- 7oz can of corn (drained)
- 15oz can of black beans (drained)
- 15oz can of kidney beans (drained)
- 2 15oz cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 3 tsp of salt
- 2 tsp of pepper
- 1 green chili pepper diced finely (no seeds)
- 2 tbsp of chili powder
- 3 tsp of cumin powder
- 2 tsp of cayenne powder (optional)
1. Over medium heat saute the onions for several minutes until translucent, add the garlic and cook for another minute.
2. Add the green & red peppers to the pan and continue to cook until tender. Once done, transfer to a separate bowl.
3. Add the ground turkey to that same skillet (no need to clean the pan in between) and cook fully until no longer pink.
4. Once the ground turkey is completely cooked through, add the turkey & peppers/onions mixture as well as the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker.
5. Stir gently to combine. Set slow cooker to either high for 4 hours of low for 8 hours.
6. When there is 1 hour left on the slow cooker time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees to start roasting the sugar pumpkins.
7. Cut off the top 1/3 of the pumpkins, clean out the insides. (you can use the seeds for roasting). Brush the insides with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt.
8. Place on a baking sheet and put into the oven for 45 minutes.
9. The pumpkin should be a bit tender & soft on the inside, but still hold its shape. Spoon the turkey chili into the pumpkins and enjoy!
