Every fall I decorate with a pumpkin on my porch. This year the squirrels got to it before I did. As you can see they ate a hole in the side and even ate the seeds inside. Guess I’ll have to dig deep in the freezer for pumpkin pulp made from last year for Thanksgiving pies.

Have you ever made a pie from a pumpkin? The instructions are below.

Pumpkin Pie from Scratch

Pumpkin Preparation for Pie

Cut a 3-4 pound pumpkin in half and scoop the seeds out. Place the pumpkin, cut side down, on an aluminum-covered cookie sheet. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour until a fork pierces the pumpkin skin easily. Take the pumpkin out of the oven to cool. The juices will go back into the pumpkin. When cool, peel the skin off. Put the chunks of pumpkin in a blender or food processor and puree.

Put each 1 ½ cups of the mashed pumpkin in a freezer bag. Store in the freezer until you’re ready to make a pie.

Pumpkin Pie

Thaw 1 ½ cups of pumpkin
Add ¾ cups sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½  to 1 ¼ teaspoons cinnamon
½ to 1 teaspoon ginger
¼ to ½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ to ½ teaspoon cloves
3 slightly beaten eggs
1 ¼ cups milk
1 6-ounce can evaporated milk
1 9-inch unbaked pastry shell

Thoroughly combine the pumpkin, sugar, salt, and spices. Blend in eggs, milk, and evaporated milk. Pour into unbaked pastry shell (have edges crimped high—filling is generous). Bake in hot oven (400 degrees) 50 minutes, or until knife inserted halfway between center and outside comes out clean. Cool.

This recipe appears in my cookbook Family Favorites from the Heartland.