A Little Bit O' Homesteading {my successful attempt at baking pumpkins and squash}

We had a Thanksgiving potluck at work last week and as most of the meal dishes already had cooks signed up for them, I decided to snazzy up our coffee in the morning by bringing Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Scones.

But alas! The day I was to make them, I opened up the cupboard, dug through the, uh, perfectly organized cans of course...but no pumpkin was to be found. What's a girl to do? Call her sister, of course...who had no canned pumpkin either!

Desperate times call for desperate measures. She suggested sacrificing my Fall decorations. The prairie woman within was awakened.

So I solemnly took my cute little pie pumpkin near the candle and potpourri and brought it to the kitchen, adding a butternut squash for company.

Want to try your hand at making real pumpkin puree and butternut squash? Follow along...

Here are my cute little guys.

First, slice off the tops and bottoms.

Cut each in half so you can then see the seeds to scoop out.

For the butternut squash, you will want to cut the sides off like you would a pineapple.

Scoop out the seeds and pulpy stuff of each. Remember to save your pumpkin seeds for roasting!

I chopped the butternut squash in chunks but the pumpkin I left in fourths, with the outer skin on.

I baked them in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes. No oil on them or the pumpkin will not make a good puree.
This is how it looked when I removed it from the oven.

As you can tell, I will never be a food blogger. First, because my pictures are sadly inadequate. Secondly, because I forgot to take a picture at the very end!! I packaged the butternut squash chunks in a freezer bag and froze them until I decide to make a soup or pasta recipe with them. The pumpkin I mashed in a bowl until it resembled puree (a food processor would do the job really well if you have one!).

And there you have it. My fairly successful attempt at homemade pumpkin puree (with some tips on butternut squash just for fun, too).

Many thanks to the real Pioneer Woman for helpful hints along the way.

Happy Thanksgiving week, friends! Did you know I'm thankful for you?!