Stuffed Punkin

I've made a few Stuffed Pumpkins before, but this is my first All-Wal-Mart Team punkin.



Last year, there was a shortage. You had to go to the Whole Paycheck Market to get the pumpkin. And while you're there, get some Gruyere, the best cheese to shred into one of these dudes.



This year, I saw pie pumpkins by the gaylord at Wal-Mart, and money's tight, but I figured I could stuff one. One package croutons (garlic-cheese), raisins (I prefer figs, but any port in a storm), bleu cheese and shredded mozarella (Gruyere is great, and Wal-Mart stocks it, but at $26 a pound, forget it). Thyme, rubbed sage, cayenne, garlic, caramelized onion, etc. All Wal-Mart.



I toasted the seeds and introduced them to the mix, not as brown as they'd have been if I'd picked up some proper butter. Toasted in olive oil, what I had on hand (and, no doubt, healthier).





Oh, while I was at it, I made a tuna casserole the girls wouldn't eat. I needed some leftovertures to take to lunch, so it's all good.



The pumpkin does take a long time in the oven. An hour on first roast, then some extra cheese and another thirty minutes. Might be more, since in this case the pumpkin wasn't cooked through at that point and needed an extra twenty minutes.



On the plus side, I have lunch for two weeks between the casserole and the pumpkin.