Here's a vegetarian one:
Elegant Stuffed Pumpkin Recipe
Ingredients
1 (5 pounds) pumpkin
2 to 3 cups brown rice, cooked
2 cups crumbled dry whole wheat bread (or part corn bread or other bread)
1 onion, chopped
1/2 to 1 cup chopped celery and leaves
2 apples (tart and unpeeled), chopped
1 cup roasted chestnuts or a handful of cashew nuts, cut In half
Herbs: Sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, and paprika to taste
1 to 2 cups vegetable stock
1/4 to 1/2 cup butter, melted, or safflower oil
Soy sauce or salt to taste
Instructions
Cut off top of pumpkin to make a lid. Remove the seeds and scrape out any stringy pulp.
Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well with hands. Add stock and butter, and mix well, adding soy sauce and salt if desired. Stuffing should be moist but not wet. Pack loosely into pumpkin, replace lid, and bake on oiled cookie sheet for 1-1/2 hours or more at 325 degrees F.
It is done when a fork pushes easily through the pumpkin. Transfer to a caserole dish and serve at the table, scooping out some of the tender pumpkin flesh with each serving of stuffing. If the pumpkin is organically grown, you may eat the skin too. (If you have too much stuffing for your pumpkin, place extra in an oiled casserole, cover, and bake for 1 hour.) [/B]
And here's a meat one (this is similar to what I've tried. I would put in chopped red sweet peppers too.
):BEEF STUFFED PUMPKINYield: 8 servings
1 (5-6 pounds) pumpkin or 2 or 3 (2-3 pounds) pumpkins
2 teaspoons salt, divided use
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garllic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 pound ground beef
3 eggs
2 teaspoons crushed dried sage
1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups cooked rice, preferably a mixture of white & wild rice
2/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup pine nuts
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut top from pumpkin and remove seeds and strings. Prick cavity with fork and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the salt. Heat pot or large skillet.
2. Add oil to pot or skillet. When hot, add garlic and onion and saute until onion is transparent. Add beef and continue sauteeing until browned. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients.
3. Stuff pumpkin with mixture. Place 1/2- inch water in bottom of a shallow baking pan large enough to hold the pumpkin.
4. Put pumpkin in the pan and bake 1 to 1- 1/2 hours. Cut pumpkin into wedges (or if small pumpkins used, into halves) and serve, giving each person both pumpkin and stuffing.
So -- that gives you the idea on cooking time and amounts. Now you can play. I would like to try a middle eastern or indian spices variation, with ground lamb, this year. I can even see where you could stuff it with mexican-style hot and spicy beans and rice, with meat or not, and with both hot and sweet peppers.
