Home Family Art Homemade Frugal Living Travel

Friday, October 15, 2010

5 ways to love your pumpkin!

Check out this beautiful pumpkin bought for $4.99! Forgot to check the weight but it's a nice medium size.


First pumpkin of the season get's made into pies, pancakes, muffins and pumpkin roll!

Step 1: Cook the Pumpkin
We cut the top off, cut the pumpkin in half, then quarters. Scrap out all the inside pulp and seeds, cook flesh side down in the oven at 350 for one hour. See detailed recipe here for more information. Save the seeds if you want to roast them!

Step 2: Make Pumpkin Puree
I'm not going to lie, this is alot of work. After the pumpkin is done cooking, remove the flesh from the skin; discard the skin. The recipe instructs making puree immediately but I made mine at the end of the day and was too tired so I saved it for the next day. I don't have a large enough mesh strainer to handle a pumpkin of this size so I couldn't let the puree sit and drain overnight. Instead I let it drain for about 15 minutes before packing it away in tupperware containers.

Step 3: Measure/Weigh/Store
The recipe says to store for one month in the freezer and 2 days in the fridge so plan your pumpkin size according to how much pumpkin you will need in a month. I need the following portions:

Pumpkin Pie - 15oz (use kitchen scale)
Pumpkin Muffins - 2 cups (use measuring cups)
Pumpkin Pancakes - 3/4 cup (use measuring cups)
Pumpkin Roll - 2/3 cup (use measuring cups)

I put each portion in a tupperware container with tape listing the date puree was made along with recipe it's intended for.

My pumpkin made enough for 2 recipes of Pancakes, 1 recipe of Muffins, 3 Pies and 1 double recipe Pumpkin Roll

RECIPES:
1. My favorite Pumpkin Pie recipe can be found here. It's Libby's which is the brand we can buy locally in cans and I've found it to be the best mix of ingredients.

2. Pumpkin Pancakes recipe can be found here. Christina creates her own recipes and works for the Rachel Ray show. I love her food blog!!! Personally I've found this recipe needs more milk; it's too thick and my pancakes tend to not cook as well in the center when they are too thick. I suggest adding 1/4 cup milk or more depending on pancake preference. You might have a hotter griddle that can cook through the mix. It takes a little of trial and error. Take your time with this recipe but the end result is amazing.

3. Pumpkin Muffins - I've fallen in love with Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins and after buying over 5 muffins this month at $1.99 each it's time I made my own! This recipe claims to match and I'm trying it this weekend.

4. Pumpkin Roll with cream cheese filling - check out the recipe here. I'll probably make this in two weeks and freeze the entire role, taking it out one section at a time to enjoy throughout November.

5. Roasted Pumpkin Seeds - if you like snacking on pumpkin seeds or using them for garnish check out this recipe.

I'd love to hear about your adventures with Pumpkin! Please direct me to any blog postings you've written or can find. It is one of my favorite parts of the fall season!

1 comment:

Rumour Miller said...

I have never done this! It does seem like a pile of work, but you have me wanting to give it a go!

Sounds yummy!