My first entry for cooking will be a recipe of mine I made recently. Pumpkin Apple Butter. We enjoy it spread on cinnamon graham crackers for a healthy snack and also on whole wheat toast for breakfast. I make this from apples from our orchard and pumpkin we have grown and frozen for winter. But you can use store bought fresh pumpkin if needed. (Freezing it is not necessary). It won’t work with canned pumpkin that I know of. Possibly if you add some water or apple juice to moisten it a little. If any one wants to experiment with that please let all interested know your results in the comments section. (See below the recipe on how we prepare and freeze our pumpkin.)

Ok so here are the ingredients:

– 4 cups of fresh cooked pumpkin (or frozen if you have put it up previously)
– 1-2 fresh apples either chopped finely or shredded
– 2 cups of light brown sugar (packed while measuring) Some may want it a little sweeter and can add about a 1/2 to a cup more.
– 2-3 teaspoons of cinnamon (to your own taste)

Mix this all together and cook down until apples are good and soft and the mixture thickens slightly. Going for a apple butter consistency, but you don’t want it too thick or dry. I cook mine, at a low simmer, for about an hour to an hour and a half .  Stir often. This will make 4-6 half pint jars depending on if you added more sugar and how many apples and their size.  This can be packed and canned in jars but because it is pumpkin  it will need to be pressure canned for sealing or you can also freeze it in freezer containers.

Use this simple method to easily freeze fresh pumpkin:

Cut the pumpkin in half dividing top and bottom halves, scrape out the seeds. Turn each half cut side down on a large cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Cook at 325 degrees oven for 45 minutes. Remove (turning over if possible to let the steam escape) and let stand until completely cool. Scrape the cooked pumpkin into large bowl and measure in 2-4 cup measurements and freeze. You can use freezer bags or containers either one.