Dinner in a pumpkin

I had never heard of making dinner in a pumpkin until I saw a recipe for it online last month. I thought it was a unique idea and decided to try it. After searching for recipe variations, I developed my own list of ingredients. The hardest part was finding a smaller sugar or pie pumpkin in the grocery store.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground pork sausage (I used the sage-seasoned package)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken stock
• 2 teaspoons of soy sauce
• 1 1/2 cups long grain and wild rice mix
• 1 sugar or pie pumpkin
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 2 (4 ounce) cans mushroom stems and pieces, drained
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can French cut green beans

 Directions

• In a large skillet over medium heat, brown sausage and chopped onion. Cook and stir until evenly browned. Mix in salt and pepper, pumpkin pie spice, and brown sugar.
• Drain meat, and mix in chicken stock and rice. Cover, and cook 25 to 30 minutes, until rice is tender.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove and reserve top of pumpkin. Scoop out seeds and stringy pulp.
• Mix soy sauce, cream of celery soup, cream of mushroom soup, mushroom stems and pieces, and green beans into the sausage and rice mixture. Spoon mixture into the pumpkin, and replace pumpkin top.
• Place pumpkin on a large baking sheet, and bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until pumpkin is tender. Scoop out portions of filling and parts of the cooked pulp to serve. 

The sausage and rice mixture was great, but we couldn't taste much of the pumpkin even after we baked it. I'm glad I added the pumpkin pie spice since it helped bring out a pumpkin flavor. While it's fun to bake it in the pumpkin, the sausage and rice mixture would be a great meal on its own.