Pumpkin Puree

One of my goals for 2014 is make healthy meals simply. So this is my week of super quick and simple recipes, that will save you time and money.  I don’t make a lot of pumpkin things, but I had some left over decorative sweet pumpkins from Halloween that were on the verge of going south. I didn’t want them to go to waste, so I decided to tackle making a pumpkin puree.  Last year we were traveling in Paso Robles, CA and we had the most amazing pumpkin curry at a Thai restaurant called Thai Classic. I never knew pumpkin could taste sooooo good! I am more of a savory than a sweet person.  So I had an idea to make my own pumpkin puree, so that I could make a hearty pumpkin curry out of it. Follow the simple steps below and never buy pumpkin in a can again!

Ingredients

  • 3 Small Sugar pumpkins (at least)
  • 1 roasting pan
  • Purified Water

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 375.

2. Give your pumpkins a good scrub and carefully cut them in half.  Scrape out the seeds and the guts with a melon baller or a spoon.  Set the seeds aside, for roasting later.  I love roasted pumpkin seeds!

3 Once all of the gut strings are out, place your pumpkin halves face down in a baking dish or roasting pan.

pumpkin halves

4. Add a little water to the pan to help the pumpkin roast.

5. Place the pumpkins in the oven for 30-45 minutes.  When you can stick a fork in your pumpkins they are done.

6. Let the pumpkins cool until they can be handled and scoop out all the great roasted pumpkin. I scooped the pumpkin right into my Vitamix.

vitamix pumpkin

7. Once you have all of your roasted pumpkin in you blender, put the lid on it and process until smooth.  If you don’t have a Vitamix, you can process your pumpkin in batches in your blender or you can put your baked pumpkin in a bowl and process it with a handmixer.

8. Let cool and then package into 1 to 2-cup portions and freeze. Depends on what you want to use it for.

9. When I’m ready to use some of the homemade pumpkin puree, I just thaw and drain off any extra liquid. Then I use the drained puree as you would canned pumpkin.

Easy Peasy!

Now go roast your pumpkin seeds!

Pumpkin Seeds

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