Homemade Pumpkin Puree

 

With a couple trips to the orchard under out belts, we had nearly a dozen pumpkins sitting around the house. What was I going to do with this abnormally large number of pumpkins? Make puree! I am all about frugality. If I can make it, I refuse to buy it.

DIY pumpkin puree...

Step 1: Claim your victims

 

Step 2: Chop off their heads (stems)

 

Step 3: Scoop out the guts (save this to make roasted pumpkin seeds!)

 

Step 4: Cut the halves in half. It's okay if you don't get EVERY pumpkin string.

 

 

Step 5: Put them on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. I put way too many pieces on this one so it took about 65 minutes for them all to cook. You should be able to easily stick a fork in them when they come out.

 

Step 6: Once the pumpkin slices have cooled enough to handle, peel off the skin. You may need to use a knife in some spots. As you take the skin off, put the chunks into a food processor or blender. If using a blender, you will probably have to add a bit of water to get it going. Give it a whirl!

 

If you need to do several different batches in the blender (like I did), dump the puree into a large bowl after each batch.

 

Now you have homemade pumpkin puree! I portion 1 cup servings into freezer bags for later use plus keep a bowl of it in an airtight container in the fridge. Now, how easy is that? I got about 3 cups of puree from each pumpkin, but of course, that depends on the size of your pumpkin.