Recipe by Pamela Waterman, author of The Braces Cookbook

This makes an easy (yet impressive) main dish complete with its own side vegetable. Serve as wedges of pumpkin-plus-beef. If pumpkins aren’t handy, use several dark green acorn-squash sliced down the center – the deep orange insides form a dramatic contrast, and guests receive their own halves.

1 pumpkin, approximately 8 inches to 10 inches diameter, or 3 to 4 small acorn-squash

2 pounds ground sirloin (best for its low fat content)

2 eggs

¾ cup ketchup

½ cup water

¼ cup dried minced onion

1 ½ cups bread crumbs (plain or seasoned)

For pumpkin, bake at 350 degrees for 1½ to 2 hours.

For acorn squash, bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1¼ hours.

For a pumpkin, cut out a “lid” about 5 inches diameter, then clean out the pumpkin, throwing away the lid, seeds and stringy parts. For the squash, poke the sides of the squash three or four times with a fork, then microwave them uncut for 10 minutes on high power. This trick makes them much easier to cut and scoop. Using a hot-mitt to handle them, cut them in half, and clean out the seeds and strings.

In a large bowl, stir together the ground sirloin, eggs, ketchup, water and onion. Add bread crumbs and mix thoroughly. With a large spoon, scoop the meatloaf mixture into the pumpkin or squash-halves, filling just about to the brim. Put any leftover meatloaf in a 5-inch x 9-inch bread pan to bake by itself. Place pumpkin/squash a 9-inch x 13-inch pan and pour in about half-an-inch of water in the bottom of the pan to keep the skins from burning. (Six squash-halves fit best into two 9-inch x 13-inch pans.)

Bake at 350 degrees: the pumpkin will take 1 ½ to 2 hours, and squash-halves about 1 to 1 ¼ hours. A pan of extra meatloaf will usually take less time; check it at one hour. Serves 6 to 8.

Chef Amee’s Gourmet Touch:

Replace ketchup with 1 cup diced tomatoes, drained, plus 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1 Tablespoon of chopped parsley leaves.