Roast Pumpkin and Pumpkin seeds! Yum!

I can't remember where I seen or read it but I saw method for roasting Pumpkins whole. Of course I had to try it. It was really easy and the results were really good. I had purchased two pie pumpkins when we went to

our local pumpkin patch so they were my frankin-pumpkins. ;)

I washed them very well and coated them with Canola oil. I placed them in a 425 degree oven for about an hour and 15 minutes. Times may vary depending on the size of you pumpkin(s). Now you need to make sure to put them on one of the wire racks of your oven and place the other rack under them with a cookie sheet lined with foil to catch any dripping juice.

They are done when you can run a knife through and the flesh is soft like butter. Now I don't know if I cooked mine a little to long but the skin was shell like and very hard so it took a little muscle to get through the outer shell to check the flesh. When they are done let cool a little and slice in half. Be careful there may be some steam. I scooped out my seeds and then my flesh and was left with these wonderful shells. Save these.  I am thinking they may make some cute decor with a little work. That will be another post.

~Updated~ It is bad news for these pumpkins. I had to throw them away.
:( I think I should  have really scrubbed them out with a Brillo pad and let them dry in the sun. I thought a light scrubbing would do and just let then dry on the counter. Well not so much. They started to get a little moldy and I decided to pitch them.  Maybe next year. I will really scrub them really well and either dry them in the oven or if it is sunny out on the patio.

Here are my yummy roasted seeds. Cook on 400 degrees for about 10-20 minutes depending on how many seeds you have. I coated them in 2 tablespoons of melted butter and a little kosher salt. They were ready about 15 minutes after I put them in the oven. Be careful they burn quickly.

My two small pie pumpkins produced one gallon zip loc baggie.

For best results puree your pumpkin before using. keep in the fridge until ready to use or place in your freezer for future use.

Happy roasting!