This month's Recipe Redux threw me for a loop. FRESH pumpkin. Now canned pumpkin I can deal with, or should I say I am confident in cooking with. But the fresh stuff intimidates me. When faced with this culinary obstacle, I decided to use my full-proof lifeline for cooking: phoning Mrs. Kolis. Mrs. Kolis is my real-life Martha Stewart. Her culinary experience and creativity is right up there with M. Stewart and Julia Childs. Needless to say, she is an inspiration to me in the kitchen (out of it too). 

Mrs. Kolis (Dian) is the mother of my good friend, Amy. If there is one person I trusted with my last lifeline in a culinary crunch, it would be either one of these two ladies. 

Mrs. Kolis graciously shared with me her full proof, stuffing recipe that she prepares every Thanksgiving. I made a few tweaks to make it my own and for the Redux challenge. I hope you enjoy, and never let the fear of fresh pumpkin from trying something new or phoning a friend. 

I only bought one small(ish) pumpking for this recipe. Silly me- I had enough stuffing to fill at least two small(ish) pumpkins. By small(ish), I would say the pumpkin was about 3-4 pounds. To prepare the pumpkins, cut a top circle around the stem, remove the cap, scoot out and discard pumpkin seeds and strings. Rinse the inside of the pumpkin. Bake the pumpkins on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees until they are soft, about one hour. 

Stuffing Ingredients:

• 5 cups of cornbread, crumbled
• 2 cups of oats
• 1 pound of ground beef
• 1 cup of onion, chopped
• 1 cup of celery, chopped
• 1 cup of apple, diced
• 1/4 cup of dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, craisins, etc.)
• 1/4 cup of butter, melted

Da Seasonings:

• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon of dried rosemary
• 1 tablespoon of ground sage
• 1 tablespoon of fennel seeds

Brown the ground beef and set aside. If you use lean ground beef (90% lean or higher), you won't need to drain any fat from the pan before cooking the vegetables. 

With your pan on medium heat, saute the onions and celery in the same pan that you cooked the ground beef in for about five minutes. 

Add all of the seasonings to the pan. Give it a good stir and let the mixture cook for about three minutes. 

Next, add back in the ground beef to the pan, and turn the heat OFF. Let this mixture "chill" for a few minutes while you check on your pumpkins and get the other ingredients ready. 

Here comes the fun part.... Add the sauteed vegetables and ground beef to a mixing bowl, along with the cornbread and oats. Fold in the cut apples and dried fruit. Keep "folding" everything until it's evenly mixed. 

Add the eggs... and more sage if you're in the mood. 

Ok. Now this isn't the healthiest ingredient. Yes, it's butter. It's ok. Just pour it in... I promise it will taste good. And a little goes a long way! 

Give the stuffing one more good mix and get ready to get your hands dirty... it's time to stuff the pumpkin! 

Bake the stuffed pumpkin uncovered at 350 degrees until cooked through and the top of the dressing is nicely browned. 

My presentation of this meal does not do this recipe justice. It tasted like Thanksgiving. See the orange chunks?!?! That's the pumpkin! It's so soft that it scoops out with the stuffing. I would give myself a pat on the back, but really Dian deserves all the credit for this one. I wish she was signing off on this recipe...

For other FRESH pumpkin recipes this month, check out a few more of my favorites: