Do More with Your Pumpkin

As a mom I am always looking for more creative and budget stretching ideas for the holidays; I have made up a list of a few things that you can use that pumpkin for this year besides a jack o lantern. Enjoy!

CANDY HOLDER:

You can take out the insides and the seeds and place a thin layer of lacquer over the pumpkin place a small trash liner in the inside and dump candy in. You can even do this with a carved pupkin it will save you from having to buy a container to put candy in if you are just going to leave some out for the kids this year.

CENTERPEICE:

Usually for the holidays the meat on the table is the centerpeice when you sit down why not try something new this year?

For a creative centerpeice on your table wash your pumpkin on the outside and cut the top sparing a little so that it can be put back on drizzle with olive oil and roast in a 350 oven for an hour or just until it is tender. You can roast different squashes on a pan next to them and fill the pumpkin with the squash when you are done. Make sure that you put this on a place it is great if you sprinkle the roasted vegtables with sea salt and a little extra oil before putting them in the pumpkin. Very festive idea for Thanksgiving you can also fill this will sweet potatoes and bake them in the pumpkin cover them with marshmellows and use it for a centerpeice.

BIRD FEEDER:

Use this years pumpkin as a decorative food feeder for the birds fill it with different seeds and watch the birds come enjoy. Just make sure that you dont let the pumpkin go bad and still expect the birds to feed out of it. They wont like it that much :)

BAKED GOODS:

Fresh pumpkin has a better taste to it and using it is as simple as steaming it in a pot ! You should peel the pumpkin before doing this and make sure that you dont keep the stem!!

You can use a madoline and slice them thin and fry them. MUCH healthier then a traditional potatoe chip and sprinkled with a little salt the kids will love them.

Serve mashed pumpkin with a little butter and brown sugar instead of potatoes this year!!

As you can see there are many things you can use that pumpkin for have a great time and be creative!!