Too..... Much.... PUMPKIN!!!! HELP!!!

I freeze my extra pumpkin in zip lock bags in 2 cup portions. I have it to make pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, whenever we want it.

cook and freeze, then add to soups all winter.

Pumpkin Sausage Pasta

Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
1 pound bulk *sweet Italian sausage
4 cloves garlic, cracked and chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
4 to 6 sprigs sage leaves, cut into chiffonade, about 2 tablespoons
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock, canned or paper container
1 cup canned pumpkin or your pumpkin mashed :)
1/2 cup (3 turns around the pan) heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
Coarse salt and black pepper
1 pound penne rigate, cooked to al dente
Romano or Parmigiano, for grating
Pumpernickel or whole grain bread, as an accompaniment

Directions
Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and brown the sausage in it. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate. Drain fat from skillet and return pan to the stove. Add the remaining tablespoon oil, and then the garlic and onion. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender.

Add bay leaf, sage, and wine to the pan. Reduce wine by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce.

Return drained pasta to the pot you cooked it in. Remove the bay leaf from sauce and pour the sausage pumpkin sauce over pasta. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta with lots of shaved cheese and sage leaves.

Serve pumpkin sausage pasta with pumpernickel or whole grain bread and Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion.

Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion:
1 pound triple-washed spinach, de-stemmed
1 small Golden Delicious apple, quartered, cored, and sliced
1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons (a couple of splashes) apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon grain mustard
1 tablespoon (a good drizzle) honey
Coarse salt and black pepper
Place spinach, apple, and onion in a salad bowl. Place oil, vinegar, mustard and honey in a small plastic container and fit lid on container. Shake dressing to combine, 1 minute. Pour dressing over salad, toss, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

This is SOOO Yummy! I found it on the '30 Minute Meals' show Rachel Ray used to do a couple years back and it is a family favorite and gets requested as B-day dinners and such! It is one of those meals that is just amazing AND even better the next day! If I were you I would make a double batch b/c it is THAT good!

*The 'sweet' italian sausage really makes a difference and is a must, IMO...although we have made it w/regular Italian sausage & people still like it!

Try it...you might like it ;)

get a box of dunkin hines spice cake mix and mix in 15 oz pumpkin......do not put any of the other ingredients in it!!!! literally dump the package in a bowl and add the pumpkin, mix it well and put in bakeware or muffin pans and bake till toothpick comes out clean.

I made this cake last Thanksgiving and it was a hit.
http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/luscious-four-layer...

Google "pumpkin turkey chili recipe".

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!!!!

I love eating pumpkin. This is one of my favorite ways to eat it in the fall and winter. I am living in Japan now, and made this recipe based on the Japanese pumpkin which I guess is a little bit like a butternut squash, but I have also used canned pumpkin as well when I didn't have enough fresh. So perhaps you can use your pumpkin. I cut the pumpkin into cubes and fill three of the Ziploc freezing containers. I think it comes to about 12 cups of cubed pumpkin. It uses a lot of pumpkin.

Pumpkin Dirt Stew

About 12 cups of pumpkin, cubed
2 medium sized onions, diced
2 green peppers, diced
390g diced tomato (We only buy boxed versions here. About one 16 ounce can worth.)
100 g black beans dry or one 16 ounce can (Prepare beans according to package and save the water you cooked them in, or the entire can including liquid)
400 g chicken breast boiled and pulled apart (Save the water you cooked the chicken in)
olive oil
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1/8 tsp- 1/4 tsp salt
2 bay leaves
1 chicken bouillion cube
water

Prepare the beans and chicken in advance. In a large pot (mine is 4.5L), brown onion and green pepper in a little olive oil. Add garlic powder, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and red pepper. Cook about one minute, then add chicken boullion cube, bay leaves, salt, beans (+water off beans), tomatoes, the broth off the cooked chicken, and about half of the pumpkin. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat covered for about ten - fifteen minutes. The pumpkin should be completely cooked through. Then add the rest of the pumpkin and the chicken. You may need to add some water. The pot should be filled about 3/4 full. Bring to a boil, cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Then reduce to a simmer and cook covered for another 10-20 minutes or until the second batch of pumpkin cooks through tender. Half of the pumpkin should have completely melted and formed a broth by the time it finishes. (When you use canned pumpkin, you can add everything at once with the beans and tomatoes.)

I love the smell of this stew. It should be a nice brown color (from the cinnamon and black beans). This color give it the name dirt stew. This is my son's favorite stew! He calls it Bullseye stew, after the toy story character. I was quite surprised the first time I offered it to him when he was three years old and asked me for seconds. We usually eat it with rice or homemade potato bread or soda bread. It keeps for about three days in the fridge, and also freezes pretty well. Happy eating!

I LOOOVE this cookie recipe so much that I begged my friend for it and then put it on my blog so I can easily share it:

http://littlelovables.blogspot.com/2011/08/sweet-treats-p...

A few other really good pumpkin recipes here:
http://littlelovables.blogspot.com/2009/10/sweet-pumpkins...

I love pumpkin rolls with cream cheese frosting, I use the libbys pumpkin roll recipe, just replace the canned with the fresh pureed pumpkin.

Eek! I hope you mean you got a big sugar pumpkin - not a carving pumpkin. If you try to cook and eat a carving pumpkin, the results will not be very tasty.

http://bakingbites.com/2011/11/what-is-a-sugar-pumpkin/

this weekend i baked and pureed a butternut the size of a toddler. i've got my 2 huge jack-o-lantern pumpkins outside, and a couple of pie-sized waiting too.
and i'm not even a huge pumpkin fan!
but i do like to freeze lots of winter squash for winter treats. after i bake 'em soft and puree them, i freeze them in ice cube trays and pop 'em into freezer bags. all winter long i'll have soups, stews, breads and cakes. and smoothies! add a couple of cubes to a frozen fruit smoothie with your favorite milk or milk substitute, add a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg, and you've got an awesome healthy treat.
work that big pumpkin, girl!
:) khairete
S.

I just made these and they are great with tomato soup, white sauce or a red sauce:

http://www.food.com/recipe/savory-fried-pumpkin-ravioli-3...