How to make Pumpkin Puree

This past weekend we were at the pumpkin farm with the kids.  When we were looking at pumpkins and we found one that was a perfect "baking" pumpkin.  I have never cooked with fresh pumpkin before and wanted to give it a shot. 

This is the pumpkin that we picked. 

I looked up different ways to make this pumpkin into the pumkpin puree that you can make into pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, cookies, etc.  You can bake it, microwave it, steam it, and boil it.  I started off with preparing it to bake, but then quickly switched to boiling it. 

I used a large pot and started boiling the water.  I cleaned the pumpkin off in warm water (no soap).  Then I sliced it up.  Here's the inside of the pumpkin.  You can save the seads, which you can roast if you like.  I diced the pumpkin into reasonable chunks.  I placed them in the water for about 45 minutes or until tender.  (Some recipes call for removing the skin before placing them in the water, but I tried that and it seemed to take forever, so I just tossed them into the water, skin and all)

Drain off the excess water and then let them cool on a cookie sheet. This is what mine looked like.

Then I used a spoon and removed the pumpkin from the skin.  This was very quick and ease!  I put all the pumpkin into a bowl and then used a blender to puree the pumpkin.  My pumpkin yielded about 5 cups of puree.

You can freeze the puree for about a year.  Use freezer ziplock bags to ensure freshness. 

This can be used as a replacement for pumpkin in a can.  It's the same measurement.  You do not need to add anything to this puree to use in a recipe.  I used it right away for pumpkin cookies and pumpkin bread.