Homemade Pumpkin Puree

I hope everyone had a fabulous Halloween. We had such a great time. I loved dressing the kids up and I even dressed up to help at one of my daughter's school parties. The kids in the neighborhood were so cute at the school Halloween Parade and of course our Neighborhood Party was the best! (Thanks Jen & Robyn ) ! Today I'm going to show you how to make your own Homemade Pumpkin Puree. This was a first for me too and luckily I found some great directions at Our Best Bites. It was actually pretty simple and not too gross. I'm so excited to have a stockpile in the freezer for all the yummy pumpkin recipes I love to make . I'll be sharing a few with you throughout the week and next week it's on to Thanksgiving. I can hardly wait!

Sugar Pumpkins You should be able to find them in the produce section of most grocery stores right now and they're pretty inexpensive. They are smaller and darker than a regular carving pumpkin.

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice pumpkin in half and remove stem. You can cut it in quarters if you want, or just leave it halved. It doesn't really matter. I cut mine in halves.

Step 2: Using a spoon, scrape out all of the stringy stuff and the seeds. If you want to toast the seeds, make sure to save all this junk in a bowl and not the trash can! You'll be left with just the pumpkin rind and the flesh.

Step 3: Spray a foil-lined baking sheet with non-stick spray. Place your pumpkin cut-side down on the sheet.

Also, during this step, I would recommend covering the pumpkin with another piece of foil. This is so it doesn't dry out. Depending on your pumpkin, it may be overly moist instead. See the solution to that in step 6!

Step 4: Cook pumpkin in your 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes or until it's tender when pierced with a fork. When done, remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet.

Step 5: Use a spoon to scrape out the flesh and discard the skin/rind. It should be super soft and easy to scoop right out, kind of like scooping out an avocado.

Step 6: Place pumpkin pulp in a food processor and process until smooth. (Or you can just mash it with a fork or potato masher) Now. If your pumpkin is on the dry side, you can add a little water (or juice depending on what you're making) at this point to get the consistency you want.

If it's too moist, just put your puree in a strainer to let some of the moisture seep through.At this point you can use it in any recipe that calls for pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin.

I bought 4 small pumpkins and got about 4 cups puree total. And if you are trying to gauge- One 15 oz. can equals 1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree and one 29 oz. can (the biggie) equals 3 1/2 cups pumpkin puree.

*I was just going to throw away the seeds but my daughter begged to make pumpkin seeds. I made these. I didn't taste them but the kids loved them.*

Posted by: Sallie

Rice Cooking 101

I consider myself to be pretty comfortable in the kitchen but everyone has their downfalls.One of mine just happened to be rice . It would either be underdone or sticky or all mushed together. Thankfully I found an easy way to make perfectly cooked, non sticky rice. You cook the rice for a few minutes in a small amount of oil or butter and then boil it with a towel under the lid. Then you let it sit for another 15 minutes and voila, perfect rice!

2 teaspoons unsalted butter , vegetable or olive oil
1 cup long grain white rice (not converted)
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon table salt

Instructions
1. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add rice; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 3 minutes, depending on desired amount of nutty flavor. Add water and salt; bring to boil, swirling pot to blend ingredients.
2. Reduce heat to low, cover with tight lid lined with a towel, and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minute
3. Turn off heat; let rice stand on burner, still covered, to finish cooking, about 15 minutes longer. Fluff with fork and serve.