Stuffed Holiday Mini Pumpkins Recipes

STUFFED BABY PUMPKINS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash the pumpkins. With a small, sharp knife, remove the tops as if for a jack-o'-lantern. Scoop out the seeds and stringy insides with a spoon, leaving the flesh intact. Rinse, then rub with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper.
• Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat, then add the scallions and cook for a few minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute or so, until fragrant. Add the kale and cook until it just wilts, about 3 or 4 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the lemon juice and transfer to a bowl. Add the bread crumbs, cheese, pine nuts, nutmeg, red pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black peppers. Mix well, then stir in the cream.
• Divide the filling into the pumpkins and replace the tops. Rub a baking dish with olive oil and arrange the filled pumpkins in the dish.
• Bake for 1 hour, watching to make sure the tops don't brown too much. Test the pumpkins by piercing with a fork. If the skin doesn't pierce easily, remove the tops and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. Replace the tops and serve hot.

STUFFED HOLIDAY MINI PUMPKINS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Drain yams and mash or puree in a food processor with egg yolk, salt, cinnamon, and melted butter; beat egg white until stiff and fold into yam puree.
• Cut top 3/4" of pumpkins off and set aside; scoop pulp from pumpkin; spoon yam filling into pumpkins and set aside.
• Topping: Mix topping ingredients together and sprinkle on top of filling in each pumpkin; partially spear each pumpkin with a toothpick near the top edge; push reserved pumpkin top onto the remaining portion of exposed toothpick until top sits firmly attached to pumpkin, like a tipped hat.
• Bake pumpkins on a baking sheet until fork can pierce pumpkin shell in an inconspiuous place, 30-60 minutes depending on size of pumpkin.