Pumpkin pie!

Ok it's November!  Time for pumpkin pie!  We were slackers this year and didn't get around to carving and decorating pumpkins this year.  We have 3 of them and they happen to be the pumpkin pie pumpkins so I would feel bad letting them go to waste and I heard that making your own pumpkin puree for pumpkin pie is so much better than canned so I thought I'd give it a try!  It was great!  Something was a little off with the crust (that's what I get for using store bought) but the pumpkin was amazing!  I had never roasted a pumpkin before so I looked it up on, you guessed it, Our Best Bites!  That recipe comes complete with step by step picture instructions. They have everything on there!  So here you go again getting 2 recipes in one!  Giving it a 5!

Pumpkin Puree:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice pumpkin in half and remove stem. You can cut it in quarters if you want, or just leave it halved. It doesn’t really matter. I cut mine in quarters so you could see the insides better.

Step 2: Using a spoon, scrape out all of the stringy stuff and the seeds. If you want to toast the seeds (shown below), make sure to save all this junk in a bowl and not the trash can! You’ll be left with just the pumpkin rind and the flesh.

Step 3: Spray a foil-lined baking sheet with non-stick spray. Place your pumpkin cut-side down on the sheet.  Also, during this step, I would recommend covering the pumpkin with another piece of foil. I’ve never done that before, but I noticed the sticker on my pumpkin advised doing so. And I figure those pumpkin people might know a little somethin’ somethin’ about roasting pumpkin. Mine sometimes turn out a bit dry and I think covering them with foil might help keep some extra moisture in. On the flip-side, depending on your pumpkin, it may be overly moist instead. See the solution to that in step 6!

Step 4: Cook pumpkin in your 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes or until it’s tender when pierced with a fork. When done, remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet.

Step 5: Use a spoon to scrape out the flesh and discard the skin/rind. It should be super soft and easy to scoop right out, kind of like scooping out an avocado.

Step 6: Place pumpkin pulp in a food processor and process until smooth. (Or you can just mash it with a fork or potato masher) Now. If your pumpkin is on the dry side, you can add a little water (or juice depending on what you’re making) at this point to get the consistency you want. My pumpkin was dry and I was aiming for the consistency of canned pumpkin so I slowly drizzled in about 1/4 cup of water until it had the right feel. If it’s too moist, just put your puree in a strainer to let some of the moisture seep through.

At this point you can use it in any recipe that calls for pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin. (Check out some of my faves at the end of this post!)
FYI: I used a 2-lb. pumpkin and it yielded 1 3/4 C puree. And if you are trying to gauge- One 15 oz. can equals 1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree and one 29 oz. can (the biggie) equals 3 1/2 cups pumpkin puree. So my 2lb pumpkin was almost exactly equal to one can.

And now onto the pumpkin pie recipe I used.  Which was actually the one off of the Libby's canned pumpkin label!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 large eggs

1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin  (or 1 3/4 cups of the pumpkin puree)

1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk

1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell

Whipped cream (optional)

(I used pumpkin pie spice instead of the cinnamon, ginger and cloves)

Directions:

MIX sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

POUR into pie shell.

BAKE in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.

The Ultimate Test

Using the Orange Puree I tested the secrets of the sneaky chef to see if it was possible to hide vegetables in Macaroni and Cheese. I of course tested this out on my 2 1/2 year old. I also added some diced ham because it was for Sunday night dinner.....don't judge me......I am pleased to say that it worked pretty well all except for that one chunk of carrot that must not have been chopped well enough but I quickly scooped it out and no one knew. The only thing I would say if you're going to just do straight up macaroni and cheese is to add a little salt. The blandness of the puree transfers to the macaroni a little. You could also add some extra shredded cheese and be fine as well. I give this recipe a 5 just for the pure sneakiness of it!

So it's not much of a recipe:

1 box of Macaroni and Cheese (follow directions on package)
1/4 cup Orange Puree
salt to taste

optional: cooked, diced meat of your choice; shredded cheese

Pesto Lasagna Rolls

This is a Taste of Home recipe I used in conjunction with the White Puree recipe. It turned out great and no one could tell there was zucchini and cauliflower in it. The recipe actually did call for some zucchini in it which is why I thought this puree would work well mixed in with the cheese mixture. So instead of the zucchini I added 1 cup of White Puree. Instead of the first 4 ingredients I just used already made pesto sauce. One other thing I added was some chicken to the cheese mixture...just to give us some meat :) Oh and I give this recipe 4.5 stars (I needed more pesto sauce).

Ingredients

2 cups Fresh basil leaves
2 cloves Garlic
1 cup(3oz) shredded Parmesan Cheese, divided
3/4 cup Olive oil
15 oz Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 Egg, beaten
1 cup Diced zucchini
16 Lasagna noodles, cooked drained and cooled

Preparation

Prepare pesto sauce in covered blender or food processor by processing basil with garlic until chopped. Add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese; process until well mixed. With machine running, slowly add oil and coninue processing until smooth. Set aside. In medium bowl, combine ricotta and mozzarella cheese, remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and egg; blend well. Fold in zucchini (or fold in White Puree).

Spread 2 heaping Tablespoons cheese mixture on each lasagna noodle.
Roll up each noodle length wise and stand vertically in greased 11x7-inch baking
dish. Pour pesto sauce over lasagna rolls; cover and bake in preheated 350* F.
oven 40 minutes or until bubbly and heated through.

.

Can you be a sneaky chef?

Yes you can! So I checked out from the library, The Sneaky Chef and Deceptively Delicious. Both cook books talk about hiding fruits and vegetables in puree form in almost any recipe you can think of even desserts! So I had to try it out since we've been lacking in the fruit/vegetable department as of late. Both books are doing the same thing but they are going about it just a little differently than the other. In Deceptively Delicious you basically take a single vegetable or fruit and puree it in a blender/food processor until it's smooth and then either use it right away in a recipe or store it in the fridge for a few days or the freezer for 3 months. You can use any vegetable but you only use one vegetable in each puree (if that makes sense).

In The Sneaky Chef you have 6 different purees that are categorized by their color, a couple of juice recipes, a better breading recipe and a healthier flour blend to use in any baked good you make. With these color organized purees you put in at least 2 different vegetables/fruits in it together. For me, this way was easier so I only had a few different purees in my freezer but those purees could be used in a number of different recipes depending on the color of the food in the recipe I was making.

But both books have great recipes and ideas for making any recipe you already have or any boxed item (ie: macaroni and cheese) be better for you just by adding a puree you made ahead of time and are storing in your freezer.

I decided to make 4 of the purees just to start out and see if it was something I could do easily and something that wouldn't be too much of a hassle. It took me about 2 1/2 hours for the 4 purees and I made double batches of each and that's start to freezer time. That wasn't too bad but we'll see how long these purees last me and how often I'll actually have to set aside that 2 1/2 hours to make more.

After reading through the books I got a pretty good idea of how to tell what puree I would add to whatever recipe I was using. Meaning, I didn't have to just use the recipes in their books. Which makes this entire process a lot more appealing so that I'm not just confined to one set of recipes for it.

Ok I know this is long and according to Tim it's legal to post these recipes so I'm going to give you the 4 puree recipes I made and see for yourself if it's something you want/need in your food. The 4 I chose were used in the majority of the recipes in the book.

Purple Puree

- 3 cups raw baby spinach leaves (1 cup frozen chopped spinach, or frozen chopped collard
greens)
- 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (no syrup or sugar added)
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 tablespoons water

> If using raw spinach, thoroughly wash it, even if the package says "prewashed." Bring spinach or collards and water to boil in a medium pot. Turn heat to low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. If using frozen blueberries, quickly rinse them under cold water to thaw a little, and then drain.

> Fill the bowl of your food processor with the blueberries and cooked spinach, (or collards) along with the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of water, and puree on high until as smooth as possible. Stop occasionally to push top contents to bottom. If necessary, use a second tablespoon of water to make a fairly smooth puree.

> This amount of spinach and blueberries makes only about 1 cup of puree. Double the recipe if you want to store another cup of the puree. It will store in the refrigerator up to 2 days, or you can freeze 1/4 cup portions in sealed plastic bags or small plastic containers.

Orange Puree

This makes about 2 cups of puree. Double the recipe if you want to store another cup of puree. Store in refrigerator up to 3 days, or freeze one-quarter cup portions in sealed baggies or small plastic containers.

- 1 medium sweet potato or yam, peeled and rough chopped;
- 3 medium to large carrots, peeled and sliced into thick chunks;
- 2-3 tablespoons water

> In a medium pot, cover carrots and potatoes with cold water and boil for about 20 minutes until yams, and especially the carrots, are very tender. If the carrots aren't thoroughly cooked, they'll leave telltale little nuggets of vegetables, which will reveal their presence (a gigantic NO-NO for the sneaky chef).

> Drain the potatoes and carrots and put them in the bowl of food processor with two tablespoons of water. Puree on high until smooth; no pieces of carrots or potatoes should remain. Stop occasionally to push the contents from the top to the bottom. If necessary, use the third tablespoon of water to make a smooth puree, but the less water the better.

White Puree

Makes about 2 cups of puree. Double recipe if you want to store even more, which can be done in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze 1/4 cup portions in sealed plastic bags or the small plastic containers.

- 2 cups cauliflower, cut into florets
- 2 small to medium zucchini, peeled and rough chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1-2 tablespoons water, if necessary

> Steam cauliflower in a vegetable steamer over 2 inches of water, using a tightly-covered pot, for about 10 to 12 minutes until very tender. Alternatively, place cauliflower in a microwave-safe bowl , cover with water, and microwave on high for 8 to 10 minutes until very tender.

> While waiting for the cauliflower to finish steaming, start to pulse the raw peeled zucchini with the lemon juice only (no water at this point). Drain the cooked cauliflower. Working in batches if necessary, add it to the pulsed zucchini in the bowl of the food processor with one tablespoon of water. Puree on high until smooth. Stop occasionally and push contents from the top to the bottom. If necessary, use the second tablespoon of water to make a smooth (but not wet) puree.

White Bean Puree

1 15-ounce can white beans (great northern, navy, butter or cannellini)
- (If you are starting with dry beans, soak 1 cup for an hour, then cook according to instructions.) - 1 to 2 tablespoons water

> Rinse and drain the beans and put in the bowl of your food processor. Pulsing in on/off turns, puree the drained beans with just 1 tablespoon of water in processor until smooth, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. The goal is a smooth, but not wet, puree. (You are aiming for the consistency of peanut butter.) If necessary, thin with a little more water by one teaspoonful at a time until there are no flecks of whole beans visible.

> Store in the refrigerator up to 3 days, or freeze 1/4 cup portions in sealed plastic bags or small plastic containers. Makes about 1 cup of puree. Double this recipe if you want to store another cup of puree.