I bought a pumpkin at our local Aldi store for $2.50. I was thrilled at this price and size of the pumpkin! I couldn’t weigh the pumpkin, but I’m guessing it weighed about 20 pounds or so. I put an apple next to it so you can see the difference in size.
It seems to me like most people buy pumpkins for decorations. Little do they know the yummy dishes this vegetable can produce!
Here’s what I did to get the most out of my pumpkin:
Prepare to Bake. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash the pumpkin, cut the stem out, and gut it. My family loves to eat the seeds. If you plan to save the seeds put them into a colander as you clean the inside out.
Next you’ll need to cut the pumpkin in half or quarters. This pumpkin was large so I had to cut it into three parts to fit it in the oven. Be sure to cover your pan with foil on the bottom so it’s easier to clean up. Place the pumpkin on the cookie sheet and stick it in the oven.
Bake. Bake at 350 degrees until the pumpkin is soft. To see if a pumpkin is done poke a fork into the pumpkin, it should easily slide through the pumpkin. My pumpkin took 2 hours and 15 minutes to cook.
Blend the pumpkin. Use a spoon to scrape the pumpkin from the skin and into a large bowl. I like to use a hand blender to mix the pumpkin until it’s smooth. Blend the pumpkin in a bowl three cups at a time until you are finished. I ended up with 15 1/2 cups of pumpkin!
What do you do with 15 1/2 cups of pumpkin? I freeze the pumpkin I’m not going to use right away in Ziploc bags. My favorite pumpkin dishes are pumpkin bread, seeds, bisque, and pie. The pumpkin bread and seed recipes are below.
Pumpkin Bread
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Cream butter, sugar, and eggs. Add pumpkin and mix; set aside. In another bowl sift dry ingredients. Gradually add dry ingredients to creamy mixture. Beat until blended. Add chocolate chips and pecans, if desired. Grease one loaf pan or four mini loaves. Pour batter into pans. For one loaf, bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. For mini loaves, bate at 350 degrees for about 30 to 40 minutes. I like to make muffins out of these too. I then freeze them and stick them in lunches for a snack. The bread and muffins freeze really well.
Pumpkin Seeds
These are so yummy!
Wash seeds well in a colander then put them on a paper towel to dry. Don’t let them sit longer than an hour or two, they’ll stick to the paper towel! Place the seeds in a skillet with butter and salt. Use 1 Tablespoon per cup of seeds and salt to taste. I like to use season salt. Cook and stir until all seeds are well coated with butter, about 2 minutes. Bake in pan for about 30 to 45 minutes in a 250 degree oven. Enjoy!
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
So.. I cooked a pumpkin.
Do you make pumpkin cookies? Do you have a good recipe for that?
Thanks for your instructions. I didn’t know If I had to buy a “pumpkin pie” pumpkin, but it looks like any pumpkin will do. I love pumpkin baked goods!