6 Things To Do With Canned Pumpkin

It's that time of year when the canned pumpkin hits the shelves.  Do yourself a favor and follow the sales.  When you can get it for around $1 a can, stock up!  I have found Aldi carries it for around $1 regular price, but it is only available seasonally.

6 Things To Do With Canned Pumpkin:

1. Cake - Just grab a box of cake mix and add a can of pumpkin.  Mix and bake as usual.  Some people like to add a little water to lighten the consistency.  You can experiment with this but it is not needed.  You can do this with chocolate and no trace of pumpkin is detectable.  My husband who will NOT eat pumpkin flavored food will eat a devil's food cake mix made with a can of pumpkin.  Spice Cake is also a great option, and more of the pumpkin flavor will come through.
2. Pumpkin Bread - You need to try this pumpkin bread.  It's so good!
3. Replace oil in some recipes - In my favorite pumpkin bread recipe, I have subbed extra pumpkin for the oil 1:1.  It changes the consistency, but it's great.  I've had other people try it and it passes the test! I haven't tried this in other recipes, but I bet in most quick breads it would work.  I might have to try pumpkin banana bread, replacing the oil with pumpkin.  I wonder if the pumpkin flavor would be masked by the banana?  My husband would be a good judge on this.
4. Dog Treats - I haven't tried this one yet but I definitely plan to.  You can make dog treats using pumpkin and a few kitchen staples.  Here is a link one one recipe.  And here's another.
5. Pumpkin Pie - This is the "duh" one on the list.  But really.  This is the best pumpkin pie I have ever had.  My mom found the recipe many years ago when she was making a pie for Thanksgiving.  She didn't have the sweetened condensed milk that many recipes call for.  So she went on the hunt to find something using regular milk.  Now this is before the internet, so I'm not sure how long the hunt took, but she found a treasure.  Here's a link to the recipe.
6. Pumpkin Butter - I came across this recipe during my 30 Days 30 Recipes Challenge.  It was from a Weight Watchers list, but I'm telling you it does not taste diet-y in the least!  Give it a try and I'm sure if you like pumpkin, you'll like this butter.

Everything on this list that canned pumpkin is used for, you can also sub your own cooked pumpkin.  Canned pumpkin is just so easy and if you get it on sale, relatively cheap.

If you haven't checked it out yet, check out The Ultimate Blog Challenge on Facebook.  

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The Pumpkin Patch
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Autumn Blessing

Pumpkin Roundup

Do you love all things Pumpkin?  Check out this list of posts and recipes, perfect for fall.


New England Pumpkin Pie

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin Bread

The Pumpkin Patch

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Leftover Pumpkins?

It's nearing the end of October and you've been thinking about all the pumpkins you have out in your front yard.  They've been providing great decoration so far, but you wonder what you'll do once Halloween has come and gone.  Don't let all that delicious goodness go to waste.  Like I showed you last week, one thing you can do is toast your seeds.  Today you I will show you how to bake your pumpkin.

Quarter your pumpkin.  I have the best luck using a made-for-kids pumpkin carving knife.  It's not sharp, but it cuts pumpkins and squash better than any utensil I've tried.  Then take a spoon and scoop out the guts.  Be sure to save the seeds for toasted pumpkin seeds!

Lay your pumpkins cut-side down on a large baking sheet then cover loosely with foil.

Bake pumpkins at 350 degrees for 1-1/2 hours, or until they are golden and are easily pierced with a fork.

You can see the color has changed and the flesh is easily scooped out.

Any pumpkin can be baked, but the best for baking are small pie pumpkins.  The ones shown here are from Breezy Gardens, a local farm.  They are, by far, the best I've tasted in a long time.  The flesh was smooth and creamy and though I made to use in recipes such as Pumpkin Bread, I ate some of it alone as a side dish with butter and salt.  Delicious!

Baked Pumpkin

Great for using in recipes instead of canned, though it may be less dense depending on your pumpkin variety.  

Ingredient:

pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350.  Cut pumpkin into manageable pieces.  Place cut-side down on a baking sheet.  Cover with foil and bake 1 hour.  Check with fork.  If fork does not go in easily or pumpkin does not seem tender, bake at 10 minute intervals until the right consistency is achieved.

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Pumpkin Bread

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Family Recipe - Pumpkin Bread

If you are looking for a melt in your mouth, delicious quick bread for fall, look no further.  This tried-and-true family recipe is a sure winner!  It's another one straight out of my mom's recipe collection

Pumpkin Bread

This pumpkin bread calls for canned pumpkin, but freshly cooked pumpkin also works well.  Keep in mind canned pumpkin is dense, so if you plan on boiling your pumpkin, make sure to drain it well to keep the texture just right.