Jack o'Lantern Rice

Makes 10 servings.

Ingredients

 * 1 medium pumpkin (large enough to hold 6 cups mixture)
 * 1 pound well-seasoned lean bulk pork sausage
 * 3 cups cooked rice
 * 1 tart red cooking apple, cored and chopped
 * ½ cup chopped onion
 * ½ cup chopped celery
 * ½ cup raisins
 * 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
 * ½ teaspoon salt
 * ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
 * ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
 * ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

 * 1) Cut off top of pumpkin; remove seeds and fibers. For a jack-o-lantern effect, paint a face on pumpkin with a permanent marker or acrylic paint. Set aside.
 * 2) Cook sausage in skillet, stirring to crumble. Drain well.
 * 3) Combine sausage, rice, apple, onion, celery, raisins, brown sugar, salt, allspice, cinnamon and pepper; spoon into pumpkin shell.
 * 4) Place on baking sheet. Bake at 350 °F for 1¼ to 1½ hours, or until pulp inside pumpkin is tender.
 * 5) Spoon rice mixture from pumpkin. Scoop out cooked pumpkin; season with butter, salt and pepper, if desired. Serve with rice mixture.