Monday, October 17, 2011

Freezing Fresh Pumpkin {How to}

It's actually pretty easy to freeze your own pumpkin and you can save tons of money!  I ran out of my frozen pumpkin and was in a hurry, so I ran to the store and bought a couple of cans of pumpkin last week.  It cost me $2.50 PER CAN!!!  That's ridiculous!!  

So, I went out Friday and I bought 3 pumpkins from a local farmer.  I paid $8.00 and for my $8.00 I got 14 cups of frozen pumpkin, a bunch of roasted pumpkin seeds and enough pumpkin to make several batches of pumpkin soup for cold winter days!  I'd say I saved tons of money by doing it all myself.  Not to mention I was able to teach my kids a little along the way.  

Freezing Fresh Pumpkin is Easy!



Wash and scrub the outside of your pumpkins.



Cut your pumpkins in half.  Scoop out all the seeds using either a spoon or your hands.


Cut your pumpkin halves into half and place upside down in baking dish.  Bake for an hour or until pumpkin flesh is soft enough to peel the skin off.  Remove pumpkin from oven and let it cool a bit.  Cut pumpkin flesh from rind and puree in food processor.  


Drain for several hours as there's a LOT of water in your pumpkin.

 
Put about 2 cups of pureed pumpkin in a zip lock bag.  Seal, flatten and put in freezer. 
There you have it!  Frozen pumpkin that can be used in bread, muffins, cookies, soups, dips, and lattes.  If you have any festive pumpkin recipes that you love, please share!!  You can leave a comment below or you can leave your recipe for all to see on my face book page.  We'd all love to try it!

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This post is linked to:

The Homestead Barn Hop # 32.


4 comments:

  1. I do this almost every year so I can have yummy pumpkin bars all the time! This year however, my pumpkins were stolen off our front porch! Thanks for linking up to Life in Our Fishbowl!!

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  2. We love this easy pumpkin stir fry dish:

    3 tablespoons olive oil

    1/2 cup chopped onion (I sometimes omit the onion)

    1 teaspoon minced garlic

    4 cups cubed fresh pumpkin (the hardest part is peeling and cutting a fresh pumpkin, but it's worth it)

    1/2 cup grated carrot (I parboil chopped carrots instead because the grated carrots tended to burn or turn to mush)

    2 tablespoons soy sauce

    1 teaspoon salt (1/2 is ok if your trying to reduce your sodium)

    1 teaspoon ground black pepper (we use about half that much...it's pretty spicy so if your family doesn't like spice, maybe even 1/4 a teaspoon will do it)

    2 teaspoons black sesame seeds

    Directions

    Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and garlic; cook and stir until the onions begin to brown. Stir in the pumpkin, carrot, soy sauce, salt, and pepper; cook another 5 to 7 minutes, until pumpkin is tender. (I cover it with a lid and let it summer on low to ensure that the pumpkin gets soft enough.) Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

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  3. Will def have to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing!

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  4. This is exactly how our family does it as well. Great minds think alike LOL.

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