Well, for those of you who have been with me from the beginning, you will know that my garden didn’t survive the groundhogs this year.  The only thing planted that they didn’t eat were the tomatoes and carrots. I am the guilty one when it comes to the onions…However, pumpkins in other gardens are ready. We can use those wonderful squash to make DIY Pumpkin Puree and having pumpkins ready for use year round!

Jack-O-Lanterns are fun, but what about making DIY Pumpkin Puree to make the most out of your harvest. These are super easy steps to homemade pumpkin puree your kids can help with too!

People are starting to think about Jack O’ Lanterns, and  everyone is getting really excited for their favourite pumpkin recipes.  I love pumpkin, we eat it year round.  We have a couple favourites, which I will share with you in good time, but for now, I just want to tell you in a few simple steps, how you can make your own pumpkin puree. 

Get the pumpkin you want to keep.  This works with squash as well, by the way.  You can do this with your Jack O’ Lantern!  After it has done it’s duty decorating, and greeting the trick or treaters, follow these simple steps.

DIY Pumpkin Puree

Cut the pumpkin in half.  If you are dealing with a really large pumpkin, you may want to quarter, it, and so on to get small enough pieces that fit into you oven on a cookie sheet.  Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Take a cookie sheet, and lightly oil it.  Put the pumpkin halves, quarters, etc, flesh side down, on the cookie sheet.

Put the pieces in the oven and check back on them every 15 minutes or so, depending on the size of the pumpkin.  The pumpkin will get very soft.  So if you touch the pumpkin it will leave an indentation.  Take the soft pumpkin out of the oven, turn it over and scoop the flesh with an ice cream scooper, into freezer containers, and seal, and freeze. 

I keep mine in pre measured packages for certain recipes I like to make often.  A lb of pumpkin / bag seems to be a good measure.

Oh, and this smells just wonderful, by the way.

Homegrown butternut squash is perfect for DIY puree.

Butternut Squash – Scoop out the seeds, and bake in the oven until soft, then scoop out the flesh, and freeze for later use! Easy peasy
  
DIY Pumpkin Puree is a great way to enjoy your fall harvest all year long.

Excellent for use in Pumpkin Pie, Breads, Muffins, Cookies, Fudge, Soup…. anything goes

How Kids Can Help:

Children can scoop out the seeds, and prepare in a colander, by cleaning off the goop, and rinsing them off – to get ready for roasting!  Yum
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