Pumpkin Puree

This year my family got lots of pumpkins for Halloween.  I felt bad about just throwing them all once October ended, so naturally, pumpkin puree came to mind.  We go through a lot of pumpkin during the holiday season (which for me is from mid-October to the end of December!), buying all that pumpkin puree can be a bit pricey.  To make pumpkin puree, you're going to want to use sugar pumpkins, or pie pumpkins.  Sugar pumpkins are the smaller pumpkins (not the itty bitty ones) which have a sweeter taste to them.

To start, you're going to want to take an un-carved sugar pumpkin, wash the outside of it, and slice it into thirds (or fourths, whichever!).  Scoop out all of the seeds and stringy mess.  You can save the seeds for planting, or roast them (we did both!).  Once cleaned out, place them flesh side down in a baking dish.  I like to spritz the pumpkins with a little water before roasting to help keep them moist.  Roast them at 375 degrees (F) for about 50 minutes to an hour.  Your house will smell great during this time!

Once you have roasted them, the skin will peel off very easy while warm.  Put the flesh into a food processor, and puree!  I am new to canning, but I am almost certain you can not can pumpkin puree (please correct me if I'm wrong).  However, you can freeze your puree (which is what I did).

Besides pumpkin pie, you can use your pumpkin puree to add to cheese sauce for mac & cheese, or make breads, muffins, or cakes with it.

How do use your pumpkin puree?