Savory Side Dish

• 2lbs of hamburger (85/15 or even 80/20)
• two sour apples, peeled and diced
• two persimmons, peeled and diced
• a bag of cranberries, boiled in a 50/50 mix of red wine and pineapple juice until popped and tender
• 1/2 C golden raisins
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground nuteg
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp salt

Combine everything like a meatloaf and then stuff in two or three small pumpkins that have been beheaded and gutted.

Roast at 350 degrees until a thermometer inserted in the meat registers 160 degrees. That took about 1.5 hours for me, but it depends on your oven and the size of the pumpkins. I used two small cast iron skillets, but any baking pan you use needs high sides as the meat renders the fat.

Put them in the fridge overnight. Meatloaf is way better the next day. Warm them in the oven. Serve sliced. Each one might make about ten servings. This is only a side, but it could be a main dish. Might be a bit much spice for a main, though.

This reminds me of Spiced Beef without need to cure it for a week – that was the source of my idea, along with this video. Also, I had started out with an additional pound of meat. Totally did not need it. But it was ground pork. May do that next time, or 50/50 beef and pork. Or, perhaps, sausage.