Recipe: Stuffing in a Pumpkin

This is from the Friends of Historic Fort Osage......I found it in "A Kansas City Christmas Cookbook".

1 pound mild bulk sausage
1 cup water
4 large celery stalks, diced
1 large onion, chopped
1 pound walnuts, chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 teaspoons rubbed sage
12 cups cooked brown and/or white rice, cooked in chicken broth
1 large pumpkin

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Over high heat, crumble and cook sausage until well browned. With a slotted spoon, remove sausage, and in remaining drippings, plus one cup water cook celery and onion until tender. Remove from heat, and add sausage, walnuts, spices and rice, mixing well. Cut top from pumpkin, creating a hole big enough to remove seeds. After scraping out seeds, spoonin stuffing. Replace top of pumpkin, set in large bowl, and add water to the bowl. Bake 2 to 3 hours, or until stuffing is warmed thoroughly and pumpkin is browned. Serve out of the pumpkin.