Fresh Pumpkin Puree

I only found it fitting to include a pumpkin recipe for Halloween.   This recipe looks like baby food and you can probably use it for that too but I plan on using the puree for pumpkin butter.  You can also use it for pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin pancakes, etc.  I used a sugar pie pumpkin because they are sweet and the texture of the puree becomes very smooth.  

Recipe

Ingredients

1 sugar pie pumpkin

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  

Cut off the stem of pumpkin and cut the pumpkin horizontally in half.  Remove the seeds with a spoon.  Place the pumpkin halves open end down on a baking pan covered with parchment paper.

Roast pumpkin in oven for about 90 minutes.  Take out of the oven and let them cool.  Scoop out flesh with a spoon once it is cooled completely.  Blend the flesh in a food processor or blender.  Use right away or store in fridge.

You have the option for reserving the seeds to make roasted pepitas.

Make sure you use a very sharp knife to cut the pumpkin in half.  I sharpened my knife right beforehand.  A dull knife can be pretty dangerous for a task like this.

When you are done roasting, the pumpkin should look like this.  The flesh should be very soft to touch and easy to scoop out with a spoon.

Blend pumpkin in a blender.  I think a food processor is easier for this task instead of a blender because there isn't a lot of liquid to help the blender blend.  I didn't realize this 'til after I put it all into the blender. 

It is Halloween so I had to include these pictures into the post.  I found a cutie patootie Halloween costume for Gracie at Old Navy.  She is supposed to be a banana split.  When I put it on her, she was not amused at all.  Nope... not at all.  First, she wouldn't lift her head up and then she pretended that she was tired.

 

I think the cherry on her head is so funny!  She is probably wondering why I even do this to her.  Lol.  If only I could go instead her head to see what she is really thinking.

 

Happy Halloween!