New-England-in-November Stuffed Pumpkins

Here are the components I used, based on my above-stated theme and our house meatloaf recipe; some of the ingredient amounts are "to taste," so adjust accordingly as you wish.

Ron's "New-England-in-November" Stuffed Pumpkins 4 sugar pumpkins, perhaps 7 to 8 inches in diameter (that's a guess) 2 pounds lean ground beef 1/2 to 3/4 pound thick-sliced maple-cured or apple-smoked bacon, diced into about 1-inch squares 1 large onion, finely diced 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, minced 2 eggs (I used 4, but I think that might have been over-kill) 1 "large" can of Campbell's vegetable beef soup (not alphabet soup) Worcestershire sauce to taste (maybe 2 tablespoons) About half a bag of Pepperidge Farm cornbread stuffing crumbs and seasoning (give or take) About 4 oz dried cranberries (more if you want) 8 oz extra-sharp Vermont cheddar cheese, cut into cubes Salt and pepper to taste (you probably won't need much salt - if any - because of the salt content of the other ingredients) Cook the bacon in a large-diameter (12- to 13-inch) cast-iron skillet over medium to medium-low heat until it is fairly-well rendered. Pour off most of the bacon fat, then add the diced onion and sauté it over medium heat until the pieces are translucent. Reduce the heat to low, add the garlic and stir it into the bacon and onions for a couple of minutes, then remove the skillet and allow the mixture to cool as you hollow out the pumpkins, reserving the tops. For the stuffing, combine the ground beef, eggs, vegetable soup, Worcestershire sauce, stuffing mix and cranberries. Mix everything thoroughly by hand or with an old-fashioned, hand-held potato masher. By now, the bacon/onion/garlic mixture should be cooled enough to work it into the stuffing by hand until it is thoroughly incorporated. Add pepper to taste (and salt, if desired), then gently work in the cubes of cheddar cheese. Rub a little salt and pepper into the inside of the pumpkins, then fill them with the stuffing mixture. Set the tops on the pumpkins and place them into cast iron pans or Dutch ovens and bake them in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until the pumpkins and stuffing are cooked thoroughly. Remove from the oven,and allow them to rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the tops, cut the pumpkins vertically into 4 wedges each and serve.

And the photos - here we are, straight out of the oven:

The pumpkins looked really good - they were cooked throughout, and after about 10 minutes of resting were ready to cut:

I'd say that the sight you see here speaks for itself:

After cutting the pumpkins into wedges, they were ready to serve:

We've definitely got some good stuff going on here, guys; the sweet, tender pumpkin was full of fall flavour on its own, but when the savory stuffing was added, things really went into overdrive. The full-bodied beef and onions, the sweet/tart cranberries, the melty-tangy cheddar cheese, and the smoky bacon all sang in perfect harmony, bringing images of autumn, New England and comforting warmth on a grey day. All that was missing was a Robert Frost poem. 

Try it - you'll like it!