Halloween Hacks

Here are three quick pumpkin carving hacks to reduce waste on Halloween.

Make chipotle chili roasted pumpkin seeds

Boil seeds in salted water for 10 min, toss in olive oil, salt, and spices (chili and chipotle powder), spread out in one layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 15-30 min at 350 degrees.

Roast pieces for sauce 

Toss the parts cut out of the jack-o-lantern in olive oil and salt them and roast them in the oven at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes (depending on sizes of chunks) and mash.  Add the mashed roasted parts to a sautee of garlic, pepper flakes, sage, then had some heavy cream to make a spicy, pumpkin garlic and sage pasta sauce. Here is the sauce on some homemade tagliatelle.

Make Pumpkin Gut Muffins or Bread 

You can save and purée all the guts and use it like canned pumpkin for bread and muffins (not for pie, though.) If the pumpkin made enough for two batches of muffins, put half in the freezer.  Google recipes for muffins and bread and start baking!

Enjoy!