Pumpkin and Butternut Sqush

You can still find pie pumpkins in some places and you can find butternut squash in the store too. Babies can enjoy both and you can as well!! Be sure to buy pie pumpkins because they will have the best flavors. Pie pumpkins are typically small, they aren't much bigger than a normal can of pumpkin from the store, in fact. Jack-o-Lantern pumpkins have a grainier texture and don't have as sweet of a flavor, but they are still edible. The great thing about pureeing some baby foods is that the puree can be used for other things too! This is definitely true of pumpkin puree. I made tons of pumpkin puree after Halloween and used it to make muffins, pancakes, and baby food!! You can use it to make soup and other things as well! Toby seemed to enjoy the pumpkin pretty well. He also enjoyed the squash. I paired these two together in the blog because they are pretty much the same when you prep them and make them. So, here goes:

Pumpkin and Butternut Squash:

What You Need
Good knife or butcher knife
Cutting board
Steamer basket and pot (or oven safe or microwave safe dish)
Water
Food Processor
Baby Food Containers or ice trays with plastic wrap or lids
Pumpkin or Butternut Squash

Prep  (about 10-15 minutes)
1. Cut the pumpkin or squash into manageable pieces, they don't have to be diced or cut small (in fact I think it's easiest if they are in quarters or eighths depending on the size, the fewer the pieces the easier it will be later on).
2. Remove the seeds, spoons can be really helpful with this since they can help scrape off that stringy stuff.

It's pretty easy to do the prep work on these, the time consuming thing is that sometimes the skin of these veggies can be pretty tough to cut through, but if you have ever carved a pumpkin, you know it's not too terrible.

Cook
There are 3 methods that you can use to make pumpkin and squash puree. I will list them by time spans, the first being the shortest, the last being the longest. I used the microwave and stove-top methods myself.

Microwave Method
1. Put your pieces in a microwave safe dish (I used a small ceramic roasting dish) and put a about 1-2 inches of water in it.
2. Cover with plastic wrap.
3. Microwave on high for about 15 minutes. If it is nice and squishy soft when you poke it, it's ready to work with. If not just keep microwaving in small increments until it is squishy.

Stove-top Method
1. Put your pieces in a steamer basket, then place in a pot with 3 or so inches of water. I find it's actually best if a little water is coming through the basket when it's in the pot.
2. Put a lid on it.
3. Boil for about 20-30 minutes or until it is nice and squishy soft.

Oven Method
1. Place pieces in oven safe dish with 1-2 inches of water.
2. Bake on 350 for 45 minutes -1 hr or until it is nice and squishy soft.

If you have an electric steamer you can do that, or you can try it in the slow cooker. An electric steamer would probably be pretty fast, but I don't have that luxury myself. The slow cooker would definitely be the longest, but it's up to you.

Puree
1. Once all your pumpkin or squash is all cooked up, you will carefully remove it and allow it to cool for at least 5 minutes or so.
2. Use a spoon to scoop all the flesh out of the skins. It will come out so easy and this way is way easier than trying to peel them before cooking them. Just be sure not to get any skin in the scooped out stuff.
3. Puree until it reaches your desired consistency. Pumpkin is pretty watery so it should puree easy, I had to add some water to the squash. Either way, if you are having a hard time with it, add some water. It's no problem.
4. Now just place in your containers or ice trays, cover, and freeze!

It all looks like a lot, but really it's not too bad. Like I said, the added benefit is that you yourself can use the purees for other things!!

I used http://www.pickyourown.org/pumpkinpiejackolantern.php to make this recipe. I hope you enjoy it!

Cost Breakdown:
2 Pumpkins @ $5/pumpkin
2 pumpkins made approx 106 oz pumpkin puree
pumpkin puree=approx $0.09/oz
$0.18/2 oz serving

2 butternut squash @ $1.59/squash
2 squash made appox 40 oz squash puree
squash puree=approx $0.08/oz
$0.16/2 oz serving