Pumpkin Stew

It wouldn't be fall if I didn't make pumpkin stew. Every October or November we go and either pick or buy a big pumpkin with the intention of making pumpkin stew. This year, we bought one so big I couldn't fit it in my oven, so I had to hack away at it until it was nearly half gone. Eventually, I got it to fit but not without a lot of elbow grease and a little blood (don't worry; I didn't get any on the food). Why can't I cut a pumpkin without slicing my knuckles in the process?

If you ever make this stew, cook it first in either a crock pot or in the oven. If you try to cook it from it's raw state in the pumpkin shell, the meat and potatoes will not cook before the pumpkin is a burned mess. I speak from a very ugly, stinky experience.

PUMPKIN STEW
1 large pumpkin, top cut off and insides cleaned out
1 pound stew meat
6 large potatoes, cut into bit size pieces
6 carrots, sliced
1/2 bag frozen lima beans
1/2 bag frozen peas
1/2 bag frozen corn
1 16 oz can tomato sauce
2 cups beef broth
2 T quick cooking tapioca (or flour)
salt and pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
Combine all ingredients except pumpkin in crock pot and season to your liking. About 2 hours before dinner time, transfer the stew from the crock pot to the pumpkin. Be sure the pumpkin is on a baking sheet. Bake at 350* for about 2 hours or until the pumpkin is tender.