Dinner in a Pumpkin

Inspired by the dinner prepared by the hospitality director at my church during our recent ladies fellowship, I decided to get creative and make dinner in a pumpkin. Fall just seems like the perfect time for this! Here is the recipe. I hope you enjoy it!

Dinner in a Pumpkin

Ingredients:

3 small pumpkins
1 lb. ground turkey 2 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped sweet onion
3 stalks of celery, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon fresh, chopped rosemary (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 cup canned chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups cooked white rice

Instructions:

Pre heat oven to 350^o.

Clean and prep pumpkins by removing the top and the seeds. I also pull out the really dark pulp around the seeds. (Save the seeds for roasting later.) Bake on a cookie sheet for 40-45 minutes.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and celery; cook 5 minutes, until soft. Add turkey and cook about 8-10 minutes until browned, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Add flour, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper; stir to coat. Add broth and bring to a simmer; simmer 4 minutes. Add cooked rice and stir, mixing all ingredients together. Simmer an additional 3 minutes, until mixture thickens.

Transfer turkey and rice mixture into hollow of roasted pumpkins. Place back in 350^o oven for about 12 minutes. Allow pumpkin to rest about 5 minutes before transferring to plate.

433 Calories per pumpkin

Getting Back to Mary

It's been a month since I've posted anything on here. Not a good way to run a blog. The last four weeks have been a crazy challenge. At times, it seemed as if I were in the midst of whirlwind, a flurry of activities and events demanding my undivided attention. At other times, I was so exhausted I could barely get out of bed in morning. It had happened to me. I had become a "Martha". I had become the woman so consumed with doing things for God that I did not take the time to spend good, quality time with God. Oh, I still prayed every day. I still read my Bible although admittedly, it was usually only a scripture here and there as part of a Bible study I was doing. I had so quickly gotten out of my habit of spending a good 30 minutes alone with God...just His Word, Him and me every morning. It hit me like a ton of bricks. This is why I'm frazzled and exhausted! I know better, yet I fell into the trap. While fixing dinner one night, these verses from Luke 10 came to my mind. I was "sharing" with God how tired I was. I was feeling unappreciated by many in my life. I wanted Him to know I was not happy about the situation. Suddenly, the Holy Spirit reminded me of Jesus' rebuke of Martha for basically complaining about the same thing. His gentle reminder broke my heart. I was Martha, neglecting "the only one thing necessary" and that was my time sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to Him, loving Him and allowing Him to love me. Through my tears, I repented and ask Him to give me the wisdom to prioritize my life as He would have me. I desire to do the things that glorify Him. I don't want to be busy with activities, even good activities, at the expense of my personal relationship with the God who loves me. I feel like my inner Mary is making a comeback. She's in there...pushing through the tiredness and the busyness to enjoy the only one thing necessary...time with my King. I'm so grateful for the gentle proding of the Holy Spirit. I'm grateful for the God of second (and third and fourth and fifth) chances. I'm grateful for a God who not only forgives but restores! I'm finding a new and fresh excitement in my time with Him. God is good!

Blessings,
Teresa