It’s almost time to start hanging up your spooky Halloween decorations, buy costumes, and eat some witches brew.
Yes, you heard me right….
WITCHES BREW!
Witches brew was a tradition in my family. Every Halloween my mom would carve a pumpkin and the kids would clean it out. Then she would make a stew or soup and bake it in the pumpkin and we would eat it before we went trick or treating. It was so much fun to do as a child and now I am keeping the tradition alive for my children.
This year I am going to make a yummy minestrone. I started early so I could share how fun and easy it is to make your Halloween witches brew.
Let’s get started.
Buy a medium pumpkin from your grocery store or local pumpkin patch. Then you carve the top and clean out all the seeds.
Scrape the pumpkin out and rinse it with warm water.
My kids love doing this.
It is also fun to roast the pumpkin seeds. This is a yummy healthy snack.
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
1. Rinse 2 cups of pumpkin seeds until pulp and strings are washed off.
2. Boil the seeds in salt water for 10 minutes.
3. Dry on a paper towel
4. In a medium bowl combine 1 tsp. of worchestershire sauce, 3 Tbsp of melted butter and 1 tsp of salt.
5. Add the seeds, stir until coated with mixture
6. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 1-2 hours at 225 degrees. Stir occasionally seeds should be crisp.
Dian Thomas Easy Living Tips
Don’t forget to add a Jack O Lantern face with a permanent marker before you put it in the oven to cook the soup.
My mom would cook all kinds of soups in a pumpkin. Butternut squash soup and beef stew were my favorite. This time I am going to make a simple minestrone.
This recipe is so easy and delicious.
Another easy way to make minestrone is in a crock pot and then transfer the ingredients to the pumpkin and warm it in your oven before your kids head out to trick or treat.
I also love to add some cornbread with honey to make the dinner complete.
Your Witches brew is served!
What are your favorite Healthy Halloween recipes?
Happy Halloween!
Ashley
Ingredients
- Minestrone Soup
- 2 cups of chopped onions
- 1 cup of sliced celery
- 1/4 cup of parsley
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup of vegetable oil
- 5 cups of beef broth
- 2 cups of chopped tomatoes
- 1 can (15 oz) of tomato sauce
- 1 cup of fresh carrots
- 2 tsp. dry basil ( I used fresh)
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1 1/2 cup of sliced zucchini
- 1 cup of fresh green beans
- 1 (16 oz) can of kidney beans
- 1 (15 oz) can of garbanzo beans
- 1 cup of uncooked pasta
- Parmesan cheese
- ( I added some Italian sausage)
Instructions
- Put everything in the pumpkin except the pasta and parmesan.
- Place the pumpkin on a cookie sheet.
- Boil the pasta noodles and add them to the soup for the last remaining 10 minutes of baking time.
- Bake for one hour at 350 degrees or until vegetables are soft.
- Add Parmesan cheese on the top.
Mikey says
Looks delicious!
Rachel says
What a cute idea! I never would have come up with it on my own. Thanks.
Libby says
Ummm… You’re amazing! And the mini pumpkins for all of the kids to eat their soup out of? So cute? I need to do this for Halloween. Thanks for the inspiration.
Laura says
Such a cute idea! I’m stealing this and doing it this Halloween!!
Joanne says
My mouth is watering with anticipation for these great cooking ideas for Fall. Can’t wait to go to The Farmers Market and get fresh organic veggies.
Jesse says
Witches brew! I love it – Soup looks delicious and such a fun idea for the kids. Thanks for this.
Kim says
What other kinds of soups could you put into the pumpkin that would go with the pumpkin flavor that baking might give it? Love this idea!!!! Thank you!
Stephanie says
Love it!
Norma says
Would you mind sharing the recipe for beef stew in the pumpkin
Ashley G says
Betty Crocker has a great beef stew recipe in her Cooking Basics Cook Book. Beef stew is delicious in the pumpkin.
Enjoy!
Lily says
That looks soooo yummy and fun to do. Would the minestrone soup take on the flavor of pumpkin rather than tomato? Also, would love to have the recipe for the beef stew too! 😀 Thanks for sharing!!!
Ashley G says
It does have a bit of the pumpkin taste. I like pumpkin so it doesn’t bother me. But my husband likes the butternut squash and beef stew better in the pumpkin. I get my beef stew recipe from Betty Crocker’s Cooking Basics cookbook.
Thanks for your comment.
Enjoy!
AprilAllYear says
OOOH! I can’t wait to do this! My kids are too old to trick-or-treat, but my son’s birthday is ON Halloween so we always do something special. This year, I shall serve Witches’ Brew! Thanks.
OH — do you put the pumpkin lid ON while you bake?
Ashley G says
I do not put the lid on the pumpkin while cooking. I put it on after to keep it warm.
Great question.
Enjoy!
Deano Papino says
This looks like so much fun and I love the pumpkin idea. I printed off the minestrone soup because it looked so delicious. Thanks for the great ideas!
Susan says
Does it matter what kind of pumpkin you use?
Halloween games for little ones and ladies 2015 says
Great post. Thanks for sharing