Pureed Pumpkin

A week or so ago my good friend's dad sent home with her a HUGE pumpkin from his garden for me. I was so pleased, but so confused as to what to do with it, I knew if I waited too long I would be dealing with a rotten pumpkin, which is not an option (I hate wasting food). So after a week of staring at it I decided to bake it. I figured if I can bake squash and smaller pumpkins I can certainly bake a 10lb pumpkin right? To my complete surprise, my attempt was a success! Here's what I did:

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Place your pumpkin on a cookie sheet and stab enough times to where the air is allowed to flow out of it while it bakes, either that or you can wait and watch a pumpkin explode.
3. Bake for 90 minutes or until skin is easily punctured with a knife.
4. When finished let cool for about an hour, then remove the top by cutting around the stem.
5. Remove stringy stuff and seeds (you can save the seeds if you want to bake them later for a snack)
6. Next scoop out the flesh of the pumpkin with either a spoon or your hands and place in your blender or food processor. (Mine was so large that I had to do little by little) Place in half pint or pint jars and freeze. Voila!

Simple, a little time consuming, but I started it later than I should have and it sat over night before I scooped anything out. So it looked a little sad the next day but it turned out fine. Mine made about 3 and a half pints of pumpkin puree. A lot I know, but you can make, coffees, cocktails, breads, pancakes, pies, pastas and the list goes on. So excited to try out all the different pumpkin recipes!

Sad Looking Pumpkin