My Pumpkin Puree

Ingredients:
1 medium sized pumpkin

Yields: About 18 ounces of puree (equivalent to 2 cans of pumpkin)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Wash the pumpkin and, with a large knife, cut the stem off. Cut the pumpkin in half so that you can see the seeds and strings; scoop them out with a big spoon and set the seeds aside for roasting later.

Cut the seedless pumpkin into 6 to 8 pieces and arrange, skin side up, on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil.

Bake for 45 minutes and check with a fork to see if the pumpkin is soft. Wait until the pieces cool and then scrape the pumpkin meat away from the skin. Discard the pumpkin skin.

Working in batches, place the pumpkin into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until smooth. You can also mash it with a potato masher, adding up to 3 tablespoons of water if the mixture seems to dry.

Store any excess puree in a ziplocak freezer bag for later use.