Halloween is almost here!

I can't believe how quickly time is going by! Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner! I have had so much fun with pumpkins this last month. I think I ended up with 13 pumpkins this year.. Most of which are just for decorating our front porch! I even put stocks of corn up! Those I stopped at some random ladies home and asked if I could take her left overs from her garden. She probably thinks I'm a weirdo! Oh well they were like $4 for 3 stocks at walmart! I think I like free better!

 Anyways, the last few days I have been sick so I have been dragging myself from my bed to the couch and back. I woke up this morning feeling a bit better so I decided to be adventurous and do some baking. Last Saturday I pureed a pie pumpkin and had it in my fridge to make a pie with.. I however am kinda sick of pie since I have already made some this year. I decided to try something new with my extra delicious pumpkin pie recipe! I made pumpkin muffins! and I still have enough pie filling for a pie! Kinda neat! I also begged Jordon to go get me some apples last night and like the amazing husband that he is, he went to the grocery store just for my apples :) I'm so blessed to have such a great hubby! Back to the apples-- I made homemade applesauce! It is to die for! 

Austin and I- Baking cookies! ( LOVE my new apron! & not sure why austin has fingernail clippers ha)

Tonight we are taking little Austin to Boo at the Zoo and then we are going to carve our pumpkins :) It should be fun! Pictures to follow! Hope everyone is having a great Tuesday!

Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkins for Delicious Pies!

Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin

 Have you ever bought a Jack-o-lantern pumpkin and intended to carve it but just never got around to it? Well here is a little tip! You can use that pumpkin to make pies! Normally you would use what is called a Pie pumpkin, which is smaller and sweeter but I'm going to show you how you can use a regular Jack-o-lantern pumpkin! (Never "recycle" a pumpkin that has been carved or has been gutted and sitting at room temperature for more than a few hours. Mold and other bacteria will have started to grow!!!)

1. Wash the exterior of your pumpkin (just water no soap) then cut the top off and gut the inside. You can keep the seeds if you plan on roasting them.

2. After the pumpkin is clean (inside and out) cut into small manageable sections that will fit into your cooking pot.

3. Cook your pumpkin. There are many methods to doing this but here are the two I use;

 Method 1: Microwave! Place pieces of pumpkin in a microwave safe bowl with 1 to 2 inches of water in the bottom, cover it, and put in microwave. (20-30 mins)

Method 2: Stove top! Place pieces of pumpkin in a double pot steamer for 20 to 30 mins.

 Either way you choose continue to cook pumpkin until it is soft enough to scoop the innards away from the skin.

4. Let cool then begin to scoop out the pumpkin. Once the pumpkin is cooked it will be easy to scoop away the innards from the skin.  Place the pumpkin in a bowl. 

(Pumpkin too watery??  let stand for 30 minutes then pour off any free water)

5.Puree the pumpkin to a nice smooth consistency. By blending it you will give the pie a smooth, satiny texture.

You are now done with the pumpkin! You can place the fresh puree in baggies and freeze it. You however cannot "can" pumpkin for health reasons!

Next I will show you how to use this pumpkin puree for homemade pumpkin pie! and I will post my favorite recipes that call for pumpkin!