How to Make "Canned" Pumpkin Puree - The Easy Method

It's that time of year to make all things pumpkin! Canned pumpkin makes creating these delicacies very simple, but I recently discovered the joy and ease of making my own pumpkin puree straight from a pumpkin. The results are fresh and delicious and it makes you feel like Wonder Chef!

So, how about wowing the family at Thanksgiving by being able to say "Why yes, I made the pumpkin pie from scratch and using an actual pumpkin."

What You'll Need: 

• A Pumpkin

You can actually use any kind of pumpkin. However, it's recommended you use a sugar pie pumpkin (as opposed to a larger carving pumpkin) for the sweeter flavor and thicker meat on the inside. They're a little smaller (about the size of a head), but one pie pumpkin can produce an average of 3-4 cups of pumpkin puree.

What You Do:
 
The first time I roasted my own pumpkin, the instructions I followed told me to break off the stem, cut the pumpkin into quarters, scoop out the seeds, yadda, yadda, yadda. I learned this year, that you don't have to do all that. In fact, it's easier if you don't. I mean, have you ever tried to cut a raw pumpkin? It's tough. And don't even get me started on scooping the seeds out of a raw pumpkin.

So, let me tell you about the easiest way to roast a pumpkin for homemade pumpkin puree.

Homemade Pumpkin Puree Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375°. Wash your pumpkin. Place the whole pumpkin on a baking sheet or in a baking dish, put it in the oven, and bake for 1 ½ hours. Remove from oven and allow to cool until it's not too hot to handle.

Now it's time to get to the meat! Grab the stem and pop that baby off. Grab the skin and be amazed as it slides right off the meat. Once you've removed all the skin, you can (easily!) cut the pumpkin in half and (easily!) scoop out the seeds. (You can save the seeds for roasting into a tasty snack.)

Time to puree! You can do this a few ways. I prefer to use a food processor, but a blender or a potato masher will work too. Note: If you use a blender, you will probably need to add 2-3 tablespoons of water for it to blend properly. Just cut the pumpkin into smaller pieces, place in the food processor, and puree until smooth. The puree is now ready to use immediately or you can freeze it to save for later use.

And there you have it! Didn't I tell you it was easy?!

So, what will you be baking with your awesome, homemade pumpkin puree?

Banana Quinoa Pancakes - *UPDATED*

Banana Quinoa Pancakes are a big breakfast hit around here. I shared the recipe I came up with, but after making these for a while now, I've tweaked the recipe a bit. I've found the pancakes to have a better consistency by adding more quinoa and more egg. You can find the updated recipe on the original post!

Click image to check out the updated recipe.

Banana Quinoa Pancakes

Coming up with breakfast ideas is a challenge for me. I want something that is quick, easy and healthy. And on top of that, I'm a bit picky about what I feel like eating in the morning. Therefore, I've found a few standard meals we enjoy and make those all the time. However, I recently decided I needed to find an alternative to one of our beloved breakfasts - banana oat pancakes.

Grains tend to be tough on our digestive systems and can inhibit the proper absorption of nutrients. And oats aren't an exception. I could write a whole post on the topic, but others have already done so and I will let you research that yourself. Today we're talking about pancakes. ;-)

I wanted to experiment to see if I could find a grain free, gluten free solution and save our banana pancakes. The thing I loved about our banana oat pancakes was how SIMPLE they were and I wanted to keep that simplicity

So, I had to find was a replacement for the oats, without having to get into having specialty flours, because we really don't have any of those on hand. We do have quinoa though. And I figured that could probably work. So, when it came time to make breakfast this morning I pulled my already cooked quinoa out of the fridge and started to experiment.

And this is what I came up with:

Banana Quinoa Pancakes (*UPDATED 11/01/12*)

Yields: Approx. 20 4" pancakes

4 bananas
5 eggs
2 cups quinoa, cooked
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat griddle to medium-low heat (I set my griddle to 250°). Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until mixed thoroughly. Pour batter onto preheated, greased griddle. Cook until golden brown on each side. Serve with your favorite topping.

Notes:

• The key to these pancakes is cooking them with the proper heat. They are a more wetter pancake and come out best if allowed to cook slowly on lower heat.
• These pancakes cook best if you use day old quinoa or freshly made quinoa that has had a chance to sit and dry out a bit.
• In order to keep things quick and simple, I like to precook quinoa and freeze 1 cup portions. Then I just pull out the quinoa the night before so it's thawed and ready to go the next day.
• We like topping with coconut oil, peanut butter and a light drizzling of pure maple syrup. Other ideas are fruits, nuts, jams, etc.

I might experiment some more, but I'm pretty sold on this recipe.