This time of year you see pumpkins in nearly every store and that makes us happy because we have tons of ideas on ways you can use this delicious squash! It is more than just a pretty fall decor piece. Utilizing one single pumpkin you can do everything from roasting pumpkin seeds to baking a soup. Here's how!
Once you are finished using your pumpkin as decor you can enjoy it as a delicious treat! Cut a hole in the top of your pumpkin surrounding the stem. Open the pumpkin and use a spoon or scooping utensil to scoop out all the seeds and pulp. Once separated layout all pumpkin seeds and make sure all the excess pulp is removed. Layout all washed seeds onto a towel and let fully dry approximately 1 hour or longer. Take all your dried pumpkin seeds and in a large bowl toss them in the toppings you are craving! For salty use oil, salt, and pepper. For sweet seeds try oil, cinnamon, and sugar, and for a spicy treat toss in oil Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, salt, and paprika. Whatever flavor you choose bake for 25-30 minutes at 335 degrees! Once the seeds are crunchy - enjoy.
Use the remaining pumpkin to bake delicious soup. Chop into quarters and roast your pumpkin in the oven. Coat pumpkin with oil and bake for 45 minutes at 425 degrees. Make sure pieces are fully cooked by poking with a fork. Take the remaining ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil, chopped onion, 4 garlic cloves of minced garlic, a pinch of salt, a pinch of ground cinnamon, and a dash of cayenne pepper and cook in a pot for about 10 minutes. Add in your cooked pumpkin flesh and continue baking. Break up the pumpkin that you have added to the pot by stirring, once all ingredients are fully cooked you can transfer into a blender and puree with 4 cups veggie broth, 1/3 cup heavy cream, and 2 tablespoons honey.
We love using up our whole pumpkins every fall and we hope you enjoy it too! If you have any special recipes you love please share them with us - happy baking!