wilkes

I never tried cooking it in the microwave, Bman. I always cook a bunch at one time and just pile the chunks of pumpkin in my turkey roasting pan with the dome lid.

Thanks bushman, I'm heading to Elkin today to see my Mom & Diddy so I'll hit Hawks!

Kelly ,,,look for a pumpkin that is about as big as a seedless watermelon,one that is very large is hard to handle .If you think it is not enough get two .A punkin(lol) the size of a basket ball would make a big big pie.
The color should be a medium orange not the bright orange jack o lantern punkin..I'm sure that some farmers down there have them for sale.
If not Hawks produce on nt bridge street in Elkin has a bunch and will help you pick one out just ask them and tell them what you are going to fix and Tony or Billy will help .

Thank you both!

How to Prepare the pumpkin for cooking
Wash the exterior of the pumpkin in cool or warm water, no soap.
Cut the pumpkin in half. A serrated knife and a sawing motion works best - a smooth knife is more likely to slip and hurt you!
- Scoop out the seeds...
And scrape the insides. You want to get out that stringy, dangly stuff that coats the inside surface. I find a heavy ice cream scoop works great for this.
Note: SAVE THE SEEDS:
The seeds can be used either to plant pumpkins next year, or roasted to eat this year!
Place them in a bowl of water and rub them between your hands then pick out the orange buts (throw that away) and drain off the water.
Spread them out on a clean towel or paper towel to dry and they're ready to save for next year's planting or roast.
Put it in a microwaveable bowl
Remove the stem, and put the pumpkin into a microwaveable. You may need to cut the pumpkin further to make it fit. The fewer the number of pieces, the easier it will to scoop out the cooked pumpkin afterwards.
Put a couple of inches of water in the bowl, cover it, and put in the microwave.
Cook the pumpkin until soft
Cook for 15 minutes on high, check to see if it is soft, then repeat in smaller increments of time until it is soft enough to scoop the innards out. Normally it takes 20 or 30 minutes in total.Note: You CAN cook it on the stovetop; it will just take longer (almost twice as long)
Scoop out the cooked pumpkin
Using a broad, smooth spoon, (such as a tablespoon) gently lift and scoop the cooked pumpkin out of the skin. It should separate easily an in fairly large chucks, if the pumpkin is cooked enough.
Puree the pumpkin
To get a nice, smooth consistency, I use a Pillsbury hand blender. A regular blender works, too (unless you made a few frozen daiquiris and drank them first..). Or even just a hand mixer with time and patience.
With the hand blender, it just takes 2 or 3 minutes!
Done with the pumpkin!
The pumpkin is now cooked and ready for the pie recipe.
It's ready to pop in the fridge or freezer (just pack it containers, like Ziploc bags or plastic containers, exclude as much air as you can, and freeze it!)

I meant Lowes and Food Lion for the Knox unflavored gelatin.

Lowes and Food Lion, maybe walmart. Little sugar pumpkins are good for pies, but you can really use any kind of pumpkin. I have used Halloween pumpkins before that weren't cut into jack o lanterns, but were just painted.

Thanks Bushman and Ladyhawk!

What size pumpkin should I buy and what do you look for in buying a good pumpkin for baking?

Also where do you find Know unflavored gelatin?

oh, I forgot to put let drain overnight in the fridge.

Walnut Pumpkin Pie
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cold butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar, divided
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
Whipped cream
In a food processor, combine the flour, butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Cover and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9-in. pie plate. Bake at 350° for 5 minutes; cool on a wire rack.
In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, cinnamon, cloves and remaining brown sugar. Beat in the pumpkin and milk. Stir in the walnuts. Pour into the crust. Cover edges loosely with foil.
Bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 2 hours on a wire rack. Refrigerate until serving. Serve with whipped cream. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Fresh pumpkin is MUCH better. I wash my pumpkin and cut up in large chunks. Then I scrape the strings and seeds off each chunk. Put in a large deep baking pan, cover and bake on low heat, 300 degrees, for a couple of hours or until you can easily stick a fork thru the shell like butter. Let it cool enough to work with and use a knife to peel off the shell. It's so easy after it's cooked. Run thru a food processor to make it smooth, then pile into a colander, cover with plastic, and set on top of a big bowl. Allow to drain overnight and you won't believe how much excess liquid drains out. Make pies or freeze for later use. I use quart size freezer bags and only put 2 cups to each bag so it's already the right amount for a pie when I take it out of the freezer.

Kelly, I always make the no bake pumpkin pie, it tastes just as good but I think it's quicker and easier and you don't have to have the oven on for over an hour.

1 can pumpkin or 2 cups fresh cooked mashed pumpkin (drain excess liquid overnight in colander in fridge); food processor will make smoother
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 pkg Knox unflavored gelatin
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/4 t. ground cloves
1 t. vanilla
1 deep dish pastry shell or 1 graham cracker shell
place all ingredients in pot and mix well;cook over med-high burner until boiling stirring constantly;turn down to med and boil 2 min. stirring constantly;if using pastry shell, bake shell until light brown;pour hot mixture into shell and place in fridge to cool;the pie will be "set" when completely chilled;keep in fridge.

If you don't have sweetened condensed milk or would like to save money, use 1 can evaporated milk and 2/3 cup sugar. You just have to add 2 packages of Knox unflavored gelatin instead of 1. You should still add the 1/4 cup of brown sugar.

I have only made the recipe that comes on the side of the canned pumpkin, and I think it's good but I am sure you guys have even better recipes that that. Anybody care to share some with me? Are the pies made from fresh pumpkin better?