Autumn Stuffed Sugar Pumpkin

This is an unbelievably beautiful dish to bring to the table. It is fun to make and a pleasure to serve! It steals the show every time!! 

1, 4-5 pound sugar pumpkin* 
1 1/2 tps. Cowboy Flavor Seasoning
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1-2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 pound ground beef
1 med. onion, chopped
1 cup wild rice, cooked
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. dried crushed sage
1/4 tsp. pepper

Pre heat oven 350 Cut the top from pumpkin and remove seeds and strings. 

Prick cavity several times with a fork and rub with 1/2 tsp. of the Seasoning and the mustard. 

Heat oil in a skillet and add meat and onion and sauté over medium heat until browned. Remove from the heat then stir in wild rice, eggs, remaining Seasoning, sage and pepper. 

Stuff pumpkin with this mixture. 

Place 1/2 inch water in the bottom of a 14 inch Dutch oven or shallow baking dish. Put pumpkin in the dish and bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until tender. Add water to the pan during cooking if necessary, to avoid sticking. 

Cut pumpkin in wedges (like a pie) and give each person both pumpkin and stuffing.

Serves 6-8 

*Do not use a regular “Halloween” type pumpkin. They are very stringy all the way though. Sugar pumpkins are grown for baking. The flesh is almost “string less”, and the taste is rich and earthy. They are a deeper orange and are pretty uniform in shape. They are always displayed separately from the other kind of pumpkins.