Perfectly Practical #212 - Pumpkin

I love the holiday season which starts the week of Halloween for Team Moppins.  It's not that we even go all out for Halloween.  I stick a pumpkin on the porch, Diva rustles up some obscure costume from our costume stash, and we pass out candy; yet, it begins the excitement of what is to come.

We are purists in that we don't start one holiday before the last one is finished.    We don't prepare for Thanksgiving until after Halloween. We don't decorate for Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving, etc.

Our one exception for cross-over is for Christmas carols.  We listen to carols Thanksgiving night after the guests have gone home and they get turned off after Epiphany.  We don't sing or listen to them again until the following year.  Because of that, Christmas carols are such a treat and someone is singing or playing or listening to them constantly during that time.

Back to why I love the beginning of the holiday season.  Pumpkins.
That pumpkin I set out on my front porch for Halloween gets roasted and pureed which in turn becomes all manner of frugal deliciousness.

So far our one little ol' pumpkin that cost me $4.99 has turned into:

This Pumpkin Soup and
That Pumpkin Soup (we liked this one better)
This Pumpkin Risotto and
That Pumpkin Risotto (we liked this one better)
Pasta w/Pumpkin & Sausage
Some Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Diva's request
and I STILL have pumpkin leftover.
That is a lot of bang for your buck from one medium sized squash!

Other uses for the leftover jack-o-lantern:

Pumpkin Puree - this can easily be frozen and saved for later.  You can also make healthier box mix cupcakes and brownies by using pumpkin puree instead of eggs and oil.
Bird feeder - birds will love the seeds and flesh of the squash
Roast seeds - they are so easy to do and are packed with healthy goodness like zinc and magnesium
Compost Bin - when you are left with just the top of your pumpkin, toss it in the compost bin or wormery.

OR...

You could try some of these other recipes once you've pureed your pumpkin:

Leave it Alone French Toast Casserole
Pumpkin Butter
Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal
Crumby Cranberry Swirl Pumpkin Bread

Of course, another reason why I love the holidays is because people show up at my door bearing gifts like Mrs. Cavanaugh's Chocolates

and it would just be plain rude to not sample all of them.  ;)

This is part of WFMW.