Smashing pumpkins

Nothing should ever go to waste.  This is especially true when it comes to my gardens and backyard.  My son purchased a large pumpkin for our fall decorations.   It looked great but now that we are preparing for winter decorating, the pumpkin needs to move on to its next purpose--PIE!!

The easiest way to open a pumpkin is to smash it on the sidewalk!   After smashing it, I scooped out the seeds, then cut the shell into smaller pieces to be roasted (350 degrees for about an hour until fork-tender). 

While the pumpkin was roasting, I washed and dried the seeds.   Then, I melted some butter on a baking sheet, spread the seeds on it and popped them in the oven when the pumpkin came out.  After about 15-20 minutes, the seeds were roasted to a lovely, golden brown.  Once salted, they are a delicious snack.  My granddaughter, Olivia, just couldn't get enough of them.

Meanwhile, the pumpkin was cool enough to scrape from the shell.  After pureeing it in my blender, I measured it out in 2 cup increments and poured it into freezer bags, ready to make fresh pumpkin pie.  This particular pumpkin produced 10 cups of pumpkin puree. 

The remaining shell pieces went out onto the compost heap.  Every bit of our pumpkin is valuable.