Thankful 2013

Thankful 2013

Day 1 Today I am thankful to have a job where I can have the freedom to come and go as I need to in order to accomplish the things that I used to have anxiety over when I couldn't just leave work to go home and take care of them.... like raking leaves in the rain.

Day 2 Today I am thankful for food storage... for the freedom to choose to store extra food, for a place to keep extra food on hand, for the ability to budget to have the means to acquire it, and finally for the knowledge to know how to turn it into something yummy!

Day 3  Day 3 see blog post

Day 4 Today I am thankful for my family... I have sibs and kids/grandkids scattered from Washington to Texas to New Jersey. I am grateful for the technology that allows me to keep in touch with them on a very personal level and keep up with what's going on in their lives...  you ALL so much!!!

Day 5 Today I am thankful for roots.... big, strong, deep roots that keep me grounded and give me a greater sense of belonging on this earth. I am grateful for the legacy that my ancestors have left for me and the struggles they went through to allow me to have the gospel of Christ in my life. I am privileged to have personally known some pretty amazing people during their turn on this earth. I try every day to remember many of the so that I never lose the closeness I feel to those who have passed on.

Day 6 Today I am thankful for friends. I like to think that we had close friends before we came to this life and every now and then we come across these friends here on earth. I feel there are those people who, when we meet up, our spirits immediately recognize the familiarity of each other and you feel such a deep connection. Once you have reunited with one of these friends, not even geography can separate the connection.  I have run across a few of these dear friends in my days and they are such a blessing to me.  I am also grateful for the everyday friends. Those people who attempt to understand me on a daily basis… the ones who tolerate my shortcomings… those people who give me a hug or a smile or a card or tell me that I look nice when we both know that I am having a bad hair day…. the ones who gently try to help me see new perspectives so that I can be a little better today than I was yesterday. Whatever would I do without you!

Day 7 Today I am thankful for storms. Storms can be cleansing... both weather related storms and personal storms. During storms, the dirt and filth can get washed away and afterward, things are fresh and clean. Storms can do damage, like knock down trees and help us to take stock of the weakness in our life so we know in which areas we need to do some pruning and grooming to be able to withstand the next storm that comes along. Storms can also bring darkness into our lives by blocking the sun in the sky and Christ in our lives. Going through the storms helps us to better recognize and appreciate the light. So, yes, I am thankful for stormy weather. It is an opportunity for reflection and growth. It is also right after a storm that we see the rainbow. A promise from God….  it’s comforting to me to have the knowledge that God always keeps His promises!

Day 8 Today I am actually thankful for second chances. I am thankful for the opportunity to connect with people that I didn't have the chance to get to know when I first met them for whatever reason. I am glad that people who may have misjudged me at some point in my life (or whom I may have misjudged) are now a part of my life. I am richer because of your influence and examples! I am also thankful for second chances in the regards that we have the opportunity, through the Atonement to start over and do a little better the next time.... for the opportunity to improve and keep attempting to perfect our imperfections.

Day 9 Today I am thankful for perspectives. I am happy that I have people in my life that I can have deep, thought provoking conversations with…that help me to be able to consider things from a different point of view, but still love me when I don’t get it, or if even if I do get it, but respectfully disagree. I am grateful for the ability to have a conversation with God and have Him help me to understand things in a new light.

Day 10 Today I am thankful for opportunities I have to teach. I am not sure if anyone else gets anything out of my lessons, but I certainly learn so much from the chance to REALLY ponder and pray about the topic. Not just my opportunity to teach the 15 year old SS class, but for all the other opportunities that come along to help me to stretch and grow personally as I try to better understand things that will bring me closer to God.

Day 11 Today I am thankful for all the men and women who put their lives on hold and leave their families to protect our freedoms. I am thankful that I can go to sleep at night without fear of the dangers of war. I am thankful that I can wake up in the morning and dress how I want and go where I want and do what I want. I am thankful that I live in a place where we are free to exercise our free agency in so many ways. I am thankful for the freedom to express myself and to share my thoughts and ideas without fear of retribution (although some of you might wish to censor me a bit..lol). I am thankful that my dad taught me respect for this country and the flag and the men and women who protect it. He taught me what it truly means to be patriotic!

Day 12 Today I am thankful for family… for parents who raised me to know right from wrong. For siblings (and their spouses) who have taught me how important it is to stay close to each other. For a hubs that not only loves me, but tolerates me unconditionally. For kids who are so awesome they make me look like a great mom. For their spouses for putting up with my kids’ quirks.  For my sweet ,sweet grandkids who bring so much joy into my life. For the in-laws (and the outlaws..LOL).  For cousins and aunts and uncles who have taught me that friends may come and go, but family is forever. You ALL complete me in so many ways and are all such great examples to me of unconditional love and kindness and forgiveness and tolerance and patience….. when I grow up I want to be just like YOU!

Day 13 Today I am thankful for a nice hot shower and the fact that I no longer smell like frankincense! I am also thankful for a great friend who shared her frankincense..and white fir... and deep blue.... and her other magic potions last night so I could enjoy an evening with a little less pain in my muscles!

Day 14 Today I am thankful for things that give me physical comfort. In no particular order: soup and homemade rolls, homemade mac and cheese, salted caramel hot chocolate… sweat shirts and yoga pants…  the cold side of the pillow, fluffy down comforters and  memory foam…  massage, heating pads, muscle relaxers, and pain medication.. and most importantly hugs!

Day 15 Today I am thankful for employees so that I don't have to carry the whole load myself! We have been so blessed with two people who have really high integrity and an awesome work ethic. I enjoy coming to work each day and associating with such great people!

Day 16 Today I am thankful for snuggles from my sweet Oakley and her smile that lights up whenever someone talks to her. I am thankful for all our grandbabies and for the sweet spirits that they have. My only regret is that we don't get to have snuggles from our Texas babies more often!

Day 17 Today I am thankful to the knowledge that I have of the Savior and the Atonement and for the peace and comfort that has brought into my life over the years. I am comforted each day when I am able to spend time on my knees asking for forgiveness and for the ability to start fresh each day and know that I don't have to be perfect, and it's ok to strive to do and be just a little better than I was the day before!

Day 18 Today I am thankful for customers! Without them, I would be able to do a job that I love... I wouldn't be able to spend all day with my hubs.. and I wouldn't have met so many awesome people in our community! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for supporting our business!!!

Day 19 Today I am thankful for intelligence.... I was pondering how far I have come in a year in learning what I needed to know to do something that I have never done before and be able to open a business with my husband in an industry that neither of us had any experience in. When I first started taking the classes to get my insurance license, I was really afraid that I would not be able to understand enough to be able to sell it. (I was never good with legal language...LOL) But through a lot of prayer and a priesthood blessing, even this old dog was able to learn something new and be able to apply it in a way that can help and bless other people's lives. I am also thankful for common sense. This is an important aspect of intelligence and I have discovered that it is not so common.

Day 20 Today I am thankful for Karma. While I don't wish ill fortune on anyone (ok, that's a lie....) I guess I should say, while I strive to do better at not wishing bad juju on anyone..... Let me just say that when someone does something intentionally hurtful towards me or someone I care about, and I choose to turn the other cheek and just let it go, it is nice to know that there are forces at work in the universe that will eventually set things right! It makes it easier to let things go when you understand the cosmic power of Karma!

Day 21 Today I am thankful for my body. Feet and legs that take me where I need to go, arms that let me hug people and hands that allow me to serve others, eyes that let me appreciate the beauty of the earth, ears that let me hear Christmas music, a heart that allows me to feel pain... and to feel love, a mind that lets me discern right from wrong and a spirit that allows me to know and feel things that my physical body is not capable of.

Day 22 Today I am thankful for sunshine. It might mean that I can see my breath when I step outside and I may have to be inconvenienced by having to scrape my windows, but it is a most welcome unexpected thing this time of year when it is normally quite dreary around here. It also makes me a little homesick... since it's very much like Idaho weather, but I'll take it!!!

Day23 Today I am thankful for the tradition of pumpkin cheesecake and everything it represents!

Day 24 Today I am thankful for gratitude... I gained some great new perspectives today that I hadn't thought about before. One person mentioned that he would be as rich as Midas if he could just touch gratitude daily! LOVED that idea. I am going to continue doing my daily dose of gratitude long after November is over. (Don't worry, I won't bore you with them beyond this month). Thank you Sherri Hathaway and Michael McGraw for your thoughts today... it was a great meeting!

Day 25 I broke a cardinal rule today of the tradition of pumpkin cheesecake. Someone that we gave a pie to offered me a slice... and I did eat! It was delicious to the taste and very desirable for breakfast. I have now been called to repentance.... thankfully, there are not a lot of things in this world that we can't repent of and try to be a little better tomorrow. So today, I am thankful for the gift of repentance so that on days when I am weak and give in to temptation, I don't have to live forever in my sin!

Day 26 Today I am thankful for an awesome landlord who fixes things quickly when something wears out or breaks down... (and it's kind of nice to be able to call someone ELSE to repair or replace stuff!!!!) YAY! for having a dryer again so my company doesn't have to sleep on dirty sheets!!!

Day 27 Today I am thankful that I don’t have to do anything today except hang out with the fam. ... glad that Em & Coty &Diane were able to get here safely.

Day 28 Today I am thankful for soggy dressing, under cooked rolls, lumpy potatoes, runny gravy, dry turkey and for the hands that helped me prepare it. Because it means that I have more than enough to eat and a family to share it with!

Day 29 We went to see Frozen tonight.... on the way home the kids were quoting every line in the movie and laughing about it. Wayne's mom said: I really like the way they did the colors on the ice. Nana: Grandma, you do realize it was a cartoon, right? HAHAHA.... Today I am thankful for laughter. I love the way our family always finds humor in almost everything. I am thankful for the moments when we laugh so hard we leak!

Day 30 With all the chaos of this week, which included 10 people, 3 dogs and a tv simultaneously making noise, lots of cooking, shopping and wrapping and trying to keep everyone happy, fed and entertained.... tonight, I sit alone in a dark room, listening to the clock tick and a stuffy baby sleeping on my shoulder.... immensely grateful for solitude!

The Reason Behind Christmas Challenge

During the month of November I have been participating in the Facebook trend to post a daily dose of gratitude. I started this last year and since then I have been much more aware of all the things in my life that I have to be thankful for. It has helped me over the past year to not just look for the obvious things but to dig a little deeper and to also recognize WHY I am thankful for certain things.
When November is over, I stop posting them daily on FB, but I do continue to notice them daily and it has made such a difference in my life over the past year.
Today, a friend posted this video on Facebook and I got thinking....

The Reason Behind Christmas

There are some awesome thought provoking ideas in that video and what if I were to take each day in December and focus on one gift that I possess that I could give away? Perhaps one day I could focus on smiling at everyone I come in contact with. One day I could focus on letting someone cut in front of me in every line I am in.. traffic, the grocery store, etc... Or maybe one day I could give a compliment to every person I talk to......Maybe I could go one whole day without sighing or rolling my eyes.... maybe I could take cookies to people I don't know very well....Maybe one day I can focus on being a peacemaker, or at least not cause controversy...LOL.. .Maybe one day, when I ask people how they are doing, I will truly listen...Maybe one day, I could exercise extra patience with each person I come in contact with....

I think you get the picture....

If being more thankful each day for a whole month can have such a positive impact on my life, then I wonder.... really wonder what kind of changes could happen if I gave the gift of myself each day for a whole month?

I extend the invitation to you all to take this challenge with me and share your experiences as we make this journey together!

"May we all make the journey to Bethlehem in spirit, taking with us a tender, caring heart as our gift to the Savior" ~President Thomas S Monson

Tradition of the Pumpkin Cheesecake

Many years ago (at least 13) we started a fun tradition in our family.

As the holidays were approaching, I was trying to figure out a way to teach my small children about

sacrifice and being charitable.

It was the Sunday before Thanksgiving and I had just gotten a wonderful recipe from my sister in law for Pumpkin Cheesecake.

I got the idea to make 6 of these cheesecakes.(Ambitious, I know!)

The kids watched me labor in the kitchen on Monday and make these cheesecakes and their eyes kept getting bigger with each one I made. I did not talk to them about why I was making them, but I did let them help by licking the spatula so that they could get a small taste of the yummy flavors that I was putting together.

Monday night, I got the whole family together and put a full pie in front of each one. The kids eyes about popped out of their heads as they considered the possibilities of an entire cheesecake being set in front of them. 

I talked to them about sacrifice and about being charitable and how sometimes, we need to give to others even when it means that we may have have to sacrifice and go without something that we REALLY want.

Then I asked them each to pick a family that they knew that they were thankful for  and would like to do something nice for. Each of us wrote down the name of a family and then I explained that we were going to take our cheesecakes and deliver them to the families that we each picked. (Yes, ALL of them.)

They were hesitant at first and felt like they had been tricked and really didn't want to give all the pies away. (Later in the week, I made another one for us to enjoy, but they didn't know of my plans at the time) And so began our longstanding tradition of the Pumpkin Cheesecake.

Every year since then, I have made 6 pies and the Sunday or Monday before Thanksgiving, we pick 6 new families and deliver our pies.

It is no longer a sacrifice for them to choose a name, in fact there is often a race to pick a family before someone else picks that family. They start thinking about it earlier and earlier each year and looking around them to see who will be the recipient of their "sacrifice" that year.

We have maintained a few rules throughout the years....

1. They can't pick someone who will be sharing it with the giver.

2. They can't pick someone who has been picked before. 

(This starts to get challenging after a few years living in the same place)

3. No one outside of family gets to have the secret recipe. ( I have broken tradition a bit this year and shared it with a few people who I consider "family")

So... if you have ever been the recipient of one of the Pumpkin Cheesecakes, you are likely someone who has had a positive impact on someone in our family. 

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your example!

If you have not... fear not....

 even though the family is growing up and moving on, 

the tradition remains strong.

We still do 6 pies every year and everyone who is near, still participates in the delivering of the pies.

Even if you don't get one this year, that doesn't lessen the impact that so many of you have on our family and it doesn't lessen our gratitude for your amazing examples.

YOUR TURN WILL COME!

Pumpkin Yum

I taught a class today on cooking with pumpkin and since I made edible handouts, as promised, here are the instructions of some of the things that I talked about.

Pumpkin Crisp

Follow the recipe on the back of a large can of pumpkin (puree, not pie filling) except cut the milk back to 1 can instead of 2. Mix well and pour into 9x13 baking dish.

Sprinkle dry yellow cake mix on top and drizzle 1 cube of melted butter over dry cake mix.

Bake at 350* for about an hour.  Can be served warm or cold with a dollop of whipped cream. Serves about 20

Pumpkin Pie Spice (I didn't mention this, but here is the recipe if you want to make your own)

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp Cinnamon                             4 tsp Ground Ginger

2 tsp Ground Cloves                       1 tsp Ground Nutmeg

Directions:

In a small jar, whisk together all spice ingredients. Seal in an air tight container.

2 tsp of spice for one pumpkin pie.

 1 ½ Tbsp of spice per two-pie recipe (such as Libby's 28 oz can of Pumpkin).

Add or subtract more spices for your own custom pumpkin pie spice blend.

Pumpkin Cheesecake (Gunn Family Tradition)

4 oz softened cream cheese                                      1 cup cold milk

1 tbsp milk                                                             16 oz can of pumpkin                    

1 tbsp sugar                                                            2 (4 oz) box instant vanilla pudding

1 ½ Cup Cool Whip                                                 1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ginger                                                            ¼ tsp ground clove

1 LARGE graham cracker crust

Mix cream cheese, 1 tbsp milk & sugar with wire whip until smooth. Gently stir in cool whip. Layer in crust.

Beat 1 cup milk, pudding, pumpkin & spices until mixed. Layer on top.

Refrigerate 4 hours and garnish with cool whip.

Make sure to use LARGE pie shells or it won’t all fit.

Our tradition for this recipe is to make one for each person in the family, then we give them all away on the Monday night before Thanksgiving! It started as a lesson for my family about sacrifice and charity and has been an annual tradition now for many years.

Basic Pumpkin Recipe

1 box dry cake mix                                                           1 15 oz can pumpkin (not pie filling)

Mix two ingredients together and add whatever sounds good.

I have added:

White Chocolate Chips, Chocolate Chips, Cinnamon Chips, Oatmeal, Pretzels, 

You can also try other cake mix flavors such as white cake and spice cake… really whatever you have on hand.

You can take this basic recipe and embellish it different ways. Here are a few suggestions:

Cream Cheese Filling for bread  (layer batter in bottom of pan, then layer of filling, then layer of batter on top)

8 oz reduced fat cream cheese (room temperature or softened slightly)

4 tbsp sugar

1 egg

2 tsp flour

1 tsp vanilla

Cream Cheese Cookie Filling (use as filling spread between two cookies for a cookie sandwich)

1 - 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened

1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature

1 - 16 oz. package of powdered sugar

about a capful of vanilla extract

a pinch of cinnamon (to taste)

Apple Glaze for cake: really good served over warm cake!!

1-1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 Tablespoons apple cider

3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

For cookies… place on lightly greased cookie sheet bake 350* for about 15 min.

For mini bread loaves… bake 350* for 35 min until knife comes out clean

For Muffins… bake 350* for about 18-20 min until knife comes out clean

For 7x11 cake…grease baking dish and bake 350* for 40 min until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool 10-15 min, then glaze. For thinner cake, use 9x13 pan and reduce cooking time slightly.

For instructions on roasting the pumpkin, see Roasted Pumpkins

If I missed anything that I talked about that you wanted more information on, just let me know and I can update the blog.

Thankful Day 3... A Roof Over My Head!

Like so many Facebook users, I totally buy into the Daily Dose of Gratitude that seems to pop up on a daily basis during the month of November. I drank the kool-aid for the first time last year and it was life changing. I did like most other participants and mentioned that I was thankful for my family and all the obvious things, with short but sweet paragraphs each day.

At the end of November, I stopped posting them, but I didn’t stop noticing the things that I was grateful for on a daily basis. After publicly acknowledging my gratitude for 30 consecutive days, it sort of became a habit to notice those things. Just because I stopped posting my daily dose of gratitude, does not mean that I stopped being grateful for something every single day. As a result of being more aware of this over the past year, I have decided to be a little more thoughtful this year in considering what I am thankful for.

I teach a class on Sunday to 15/16 year old kids. An underlying theme that has seemed to be a continuation of my gratitude project from last November, has been to try to encourage the students to look for the hand of God in their life. By continuing to focus on that in my own life, it has raised my awareness for those tender mercies that we see on a daily basis…. I don’t want to go into all of that again, because I have blogged about it already. (See my posting ,http://www.mommagunn.blogspot.com/2013/08/have-i-seen-hand-of-god-in-my-life-today.html  for a great story about this) I do, however,  mention this so that you might better understand the depths of my feelings about what I am thankful for today.

Today, I am thankful for a roof over my head!

Yesterday, the weather was forecast to be very windy and rainy. A typical blustery day in the Pac NW. Mother Nature did not disappoint… at least in the early part of the day.

Some friends of ours who happened to be out of town (tender mercy) had a tree fall on their home and crushed the roof and did a lot of damage to the inside of the home. Wayne got a call to go and help inspect it and see what could be done to secure it for them. Weather was a huge concern.

I went along, not because I thought I was capable of helping remove a tree from someone’s home, but I thought I could be useful in small ways like fetching things and tossing them onto the roof so the men didn’t have to keep going up and down… and holding the flashlight while they tried to navigate the debris with a chainsaw in the dark…. I am so lucky to have been able to witness so many small miracles during the hours it took to secure this home.

First off… remember that rainy, windy, blustery day that was forecast? Well the clouds parted and the wind stopped…. at least for the few hours needed to complete this act of service. It would have been so much more dangerous for the guys to be up on that roof if it had been raining and the wind continuing the gust. (Tender mercy)

There were many holes in the roof from the tree branches that pokes down like spears through much of the roof. The men were able to know (even in the dark) where it would be safe to stand and walk without falling through the weakened roof. (Tender mercy)

The guys who showed up were blessed with the exact knowledge of how to remove this huge tree without doing any further damage to the home or hurting each other. If you have never witnessed trees being knocked down with a chainsaw, then you might not understand how precise you need to be on how you hack up a tree. There is actually a lot of physics involved, especially when the tree is resting precariously at an angle in the middle of someone’s roof. You don’t want any part of the tree to fall inside the home, you don’t want part of the tree to fall down and go through the side of the house and you don’t want the weight to shift at the top of the tree and knock someone off the roof. (Tender mercy)

As I was on the ground holding the flashlight, and the tree was finally removed to reveal a gaping hole in the roof, someone mentioned that just stretching plastic sheeting over the hole might not work because if it rains, it will just pool on the plastic and eventually give way and flood the home.  At that moment they noticed a pile of new 2x4’s stacked up next to the home… almost like they were just there waiting for a purpose… now they had one! (Tender mercy)

With the lumber building a bridge across the hole and the plastic stretched over it, they decided they needed a way to secure the edges of the plastic since the staples where going all the way through it. Someone just happened to have a bunch of molding trim pieces that he had removed from his own home… EXACTLY what they needed to secure the edges of the plastic to keep it in place! The molding even still had the nails in it! (Tender mercy)

One guy who showed up to help happened to have a compressor and all the right air tools they needed in his van. (Tender mercy)

The antique furniture in the bedroom was not affected and was able to be removed safely. (Tender mercy)

A neighbor was able to witness the people from my friend’s church all coming together to help him, (the neighbor who was left to oversee the home in their absence), secure the home and fulfill the responsibility he felt to look after his neighbors home as promised. Perhaps a missionary opportunity? (Tender mercy)

My heart breaks for this family to have to go through this tragedy, but it was such an amazing opportunity to see the hand of God working in their life. It really is nearly impossible to tally the tender mercies that took place last night and I am certain there will be more as this event unfolds for them.

So today… I am grateful for a roof over my head… something that up until last night, I sort of took for granted! I am grateful that, as I sit in my cozy home and feel secure, I can look out any window and see gorgeous landscape and scenery and in every direction I can see amazing neighbors that I can count among my friends. As I look under my roof, I see the love of the beautiful family that I have been blessed with. (But that is a whole new level of gratitude that I shall save for another day!)

Roasted Pumpkins? Yes please!

If you are one of those people who carves up the old pumpkin just for the decoration, then I am here to tell you, that you are missing out on some serious delish!

I have talked about doing this a lot, but never actually taken the time to take document the steps I take to use the best parts of a pumpkin. I am here to tell you that roasted pumpkin puree is SOOOO much better than canned pumpkin. And have I mentioned how yummy the seeds are?

So before I get to the how to, I have to share a story….

I have been asked to teach a class to a group of women on cooking with pumpkin. So of course, I wanted to showcase a recipe on cooking with ACTUAL pumpkin that I roasted myself. I brought home a couple of sugar pumps and stuck them in the oven. I was in the kitchen cleaning the seeds when my daughter came in the room and asked what I was doing… I told her I was cleaning the seeds so I could roast them. She sort of bounced off to her room for a bit… fast forward an hour….

She came back into the kitchen as I was pulling the roasted pumps out of the oven. She asked what I had done. I explained to her that I roasted the pumpkins. She stood there with a dumbfounded look on her face and asked how I did that… I said that I put them in the oven and turned it on. She then proceeded to ask me what happened to the seeds…..  Apparently she thought I put the seeds in the oven and somehow turned them into pumpkins!

Now I am not talented enough to turn seeds into pumps just by sticking them in the oven… in fact, I am not even talented enough to turn seeds into pumpkins by sticking them in the GROUND… But I do have a bit of a talent into turning a pump into yummy puree and the seeds into a yummy healthy snack!

You will want to start with a 2-4 lb sugar pumpkin (they work best for roasting because they are smaller than carving pumps, but really, any old pumpkin will do!)

Cut it in half (if it has a stem, cut the stem off first so you don’t have to cut through it)

Then scoop all the seeds and stringy stuff out and lay them face down on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  (I try to separate the seeds from the stringy stuff as I pull it all out of the center).  Set seeds aside.

Place the cookie sheet in the oven at 350-375. Depending on the size of the pumps, it will take 45-60 min to roast. You will know when they are done because the skin of the pump will get wrinkly. If you can easily stick a fork in it, then it’s probably done. You want it to be soft, but not gooey.

Set aside until it’s cool enough to handle, then peel the skin off the pumpkin and put the cooked flesh in the blender to puree. This works the blender pretty hard, so it’s not for a wimpy blender. It works best if you start it on a slower speed until the bottom part starts to puree, then gradually increase the speed until you get to the puree setting. Let it run until it is really smooth. At this point, you can use it for your favorite recipe or save it for later. I usually pack 2 cups (most of my recipes call for a large can, which is pretty much 2 cups) in a pint size mason jar and freeze it. You could actually can it yourself, but I use mine up before the holidays are over, so I don’t go to that much trouble. It will keep for a few days in the fridge, but if you need it to last longer than that, just pop it in an airtight container or freezer bags and stick it in the freezer for a few months.

While your pump is roasting, rinse the seeds until there is no more pumpkin goo on them, pat them dry and set on a cookie sheet overnight to dry. They roast better if they are dry when you stick them in the oven. When ready to roast, toss them with a tablespoon of olive oil and some garlic salt, spread them back on the cookie sheet, as thin as possible and roast for about 15 min at 350*. Don’t over-cook them or they will taste like burnt popcorn. They are done when they START to turn brown. Break one open to check. You don’t want the centers to be brown because they are a little too done at that point.

From 4 3lb sugar pumpkins, I got a sandwich bag full of seeds and 10 pints of puree and paid about $10. That is equivalent to 5 small cans of pumpkin. 

Enjoy!