Smashing Pumpkins (no not the band)

I love this time of year. I'm not the typical love EVERYTHING PUMPKIN SPICE OMG girl that you see made fun of on Facebook (lets face it, most of them do deserve to be made fun of). But I do love fresh pumpkin. I buy pumpkins to decorate - not carve - for Halloween because I can cut them up and render them down and make them into something special. I've found that I don't like canned pumpkin. Something to do with the preservatives they put in it, no doubt. I've found that one fair sized pumpkin can be rendered down and made into about 15 or so cups of pumpkin puree, after it's properly strained down that is.

So what do I do with the pumpkin puree? I'm glad you asked. Here's some of the top things to make with it. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cake rolls, pumpkin muffins. Yea, I have a lot of pumpkin recipes. I'll even share some of them with you.

Pumpkin bread

• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup cooking oil
• 4 eggs
• 3 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup water, depending on how watery your puree is
• 2 cups pumpkin
• 1/2 cup raisins, dusted in flour to keep from sinking to bottom of pan while baking  
  
  Pre-heat oven to 350*. Spray your baking pan, I use a loaf pan, either full sized of minis so everyone gets their own personal bread. 
  Mix sugar and oil, add eggs. Sift dry ingredients together, add to egg mixture. Add in pumpkin. Like I said, it will depend on how watery your puree is as to how much water you will need. You want it loose, but not soupy. Think cake batter. Fold in raisins (you can add nuts if you want.)
  Spoon into pan(s), bake for 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. I usually bake for 55 minutes, turn the heat off and let it 'coast' in the oven til it's done.
  When finished you can serve as it, or you can put a nice glaze on the top of it. For an extra kick of flavor, there are pumpkin spice chips you can buy this time of year, and can sprinkle on the top of the loaf while it's still warm, then spread with a knife once they melt. You can also put them on top of the loaf while it's 'coasting' in the oven.
  
  Enjoy!
  #southernfamilytiesbooks