what to do with half a can of pumpkin puree

[momskitchen]

Happens to me every Thanksgiving....what to do with the half can that's remaining....any ideas?

[pdxgastro]

Stir it into Mac & Cheese! It's the same color and nobody will notice the extra nutrition. Wink, wink.

[jvanderh]

I made and enjoyed this pumpkin fudge recipe:

http://www.wagnerfarmscorrales.com/re...

though if you have to open a can of evaporated milk to make it, you're right back where you started!

[frances 50]

If you have a dog, add it to his food.

[delong99]

I use it to make dog biscuits. Mix with a bit of peanut butter, rolled oats, an egg and enough whole wheat flour to make a stiff dough. I then roll it to about 1/2 inch thick, cut into pieces with a pizza cutter and bake at 325 for about 40 minutes or more until they are hard. The dog LOVES them.

[jvanderh]

A certain peanut-butter-mad malamute in my life would love this, but his stomach is very sensitive to carbs/fiber. Do you think ground up nuts would work in place of some or all of the flour?

[jvanderh]

It worked! They taste kind of bland to me, but they have a great crunch and he loves them :-)

[HillJ]

I usually just make a morning smoothie with the leftovers but this time I added it to an oatmeal cookie recipe and it worked really well. Tinted the batter and added a nice moisture to the oats.

[Leepa]

Did you adjust the other ingredients any? Sounds good.

[HillJ]

I didn't adjust the ingredients but I had to add about 5 mins on the baking time per sheet.

[Leepa]

Thx!

[CindyJ]

I usually toss whatever is left into the trash.

[magiesmom]

really? Pumpkin is such a good ( tasty, versatile, nutritious) food.

[CindyJ]

Oh, I know that. But if I don't have an immediate need for it, chances are, if I store it away somewhere, like in a container in the freezer, or even in the fridge, I'll forget it's there. Also, I'm not a big fan of pumpkin, and canned pumpkin is something I only use about once a year -- usually for making pumpkin bread. So when I make pumpkin bread next year, I'd just as soon start with a fresh can. I don't usually feel guilty about tossing a half a cup of canned pumpkin away, I don't feel compelled to find a use for it when I don't like it all that much, and I don't have a dog that would appreciate it.

[magiesmom]

I just love pumpkin, so it's hard to understand, that's all.

[karykat]

I do understand what you[re saying about things getting tucked away in the freezer and then forgotten. Been there, done that.

Although I've gotten a lot more cost conscious and economic in the last year or so.

[CindyJ]

I've often said someone should invent some kind of refrigerator/freezer inventory device -- a handy, easy-to-use tool that could tell me at a glance what's in the fridge, how long it's been in there, and what needs to be removed and discarded immediately. Things have a way of taking on a life of their own in my fridge -- items stashed in the back morph into unrecognizable life forms back there. As for leftovers -- I'll wrap them up and maybe even label them, but even as I'm doing that I know there will come a day when they'll get tossed out. With few exceptions, I just don't enjoy leftovers so I always try to give them away before relegating them to the no-man's-land that is the back of my fridge.

[jvanderh]

I remember seeing some college kids who had put together a prototype that worked on item weight. You had to put the milk in the same spot, and so forth. It might have even had a barcode scanner; I can't remember.

[alkapal]

cindy, you know, many great scientists have found their inspiration in the bowels of the refrigerator, where the forgotten leftovers live (and thrive). ;-)).

[CindyJ]

I'm happy for those scientists. I, however, have not only lost my inspiration upon making those discoveries -- I've also nearly lost my lunch. :-)

[jujuthomas]

i found a turkey white bean pumpkin chili on skinnytaste.com. it was awesome.

[karykat]

Soften some good vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt, fold in the pumpkin with some cinnamon and then refreeze. Instant pumpkin ice cream (with fewer calories and fat grams!)

[jenscats5]

I like a dab or two of pumpkin on my cottage cheese............delicious!

And as someone mentioned with their dogs - pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie mix!) is good for cats and some cats do like it. I used to give some to my kitty for digestion.....

[Emme]

i'm making a Pumpkin Pavlova for a dinner party tmrw. haven't quite settled on the filling yet. perhaps a vanilla bean cream with some pumpkin seed brittle. we'll see.

as others have suggested, many baked goods... i've done a lot of scones recently
also good to swirl into risotto. or make ravioli filling. or use as a sauce pureed with some caramelized onions, paprika, herbs of choice, roasted red peppers, roasted garlic, and evaporated milk with some diced sundried tomatoes stirred in. and served over grilled or seared fish.

or use it to make a sauce for a pizza base...

[piccola]

For the pavlova, do you mix the pumpkin with the egg whites then?

[Emme]

i did/do, yes! i want to say i used about 5/8 cup (1/2 really rounded) puree for 5 egg whites... and maybe a cup of sugar?

[piccola]

OK good to know! I love pavlova and pumpkin, so clearly the two together must be even better.

[Emme]

it's definitely good. i also add spices and vanilla, of course!

[mom22tots]

I like to add it to greek yogurt with some honey and pumpkin pie spice.

[goodhealthgourmet]

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[Bada Bing]

I very seriously recommend a Bobby Flay recipe from last year or so, the original recipe is multi-part (a pumpkin bread pudding with a special glaze). One of the steps is a pumpkin bread recipe, and the bread was incredibly delicious and moist. So much so that I regretted cubing the bread and toasting it , which are the further steps in the recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bo...

I liked the bread itself as much as I liked the bread pudding with snazzy glaze.

[NE_Wombat]

It's a most excellent addition to waffle batter.

[Leepa]

Pumpkin mashed potatoes.

http://ohsheglows.com/2010/11/11/garl...

[travelmad478]

Put it in a container in the freezer and take it out a year from now when you need to make your next pie. That's where I got the 1 cup of pumpkin that went into my pumpkin cheesecake this week!

[juli5122]

Risotto, pumpkin bread, pumkin pancakes, or pumpkin caramels

http://www.food52.com/recipes/7115_sa...

[lyri]

I made pumpkin soup yesterday. It was more like Thanksgiving Left-Over Soup. I made some turkey broth, used the left over heavy cream from the cheesecakes, leftover sweet potato from the sweet potato cake, and that leftover canned pumpkin. Added in some onions, allspice, nutmeg, salt, pepper, chili powder and smoked (chipotle) tabasco, and it was super creamy and delicious.

[alkapal]

oh, you made a sweet potato cake? was it the "sweet potato surprise cake" with the coconut in the frosting? i love that cake -- in fact, i think it may be the best cake in the WORLD. LOL

[lyri]

No, I made this: http://www.marthastewart.com/317934/s...

I substituted the Bourbon for spiced rum, and added some more spices. I also made a completely different glaze for it which was so delicious I had to stop myself from eating spoonsfuls of it.

[goodhealthgourmet]

you said you used "leftover sweet potato from the sweet potato cake" in the soup - i think that's what alka was asking about.

[lyri]

I just boiled too many sweet potatoes.

[goodhealthgourmet]

ok, but you boiled them to make a sweet potato cake, right? what i was trying to clarify was that alka was asking about the sweet potato cake you made.

[alkapal]

ghg, the recipe just calls for "one cooked sweet potato."
~~~~~~~~~
fwiw, my sweet potato surprise cake in fact just uses fresh grated sweet potatoes.

[rasputina]

pumpkin pancakes

[coll]

Buy the half size cans next year! Stores usually have both.

I haven't made from a can in a long time, I didn't look and used the bigger can even though I had both on hand. As I added ingredients, I thought, this is really a lot of filling. Didn't read the fine print on top, recipe is for two pies. So we have an extra one in the freezer now.

What to do this time, I would add to soup, chili, curry etc; to oatmeal or yougurt for breakfast, or make a hummus type dip out of it.

If you have a dog, they LOVE it and it's very good for them (or so I'm told).

[greygarious]

It is a good home remedy (recommended by veterinarians) for dogs with either diarrhea or constipation, due to its high fiber content. If the OP has a dog, I'd suggest freezing it in whatever smaller amounts the vet recommends for ithe dog's size. Sooner or later it will be needed.

[FromMyCabinDoor]

I freeze it in a different container, of course. Then later I can make muffins, cookies or bread.

[mattstolz]

i always throw mine in my oatmeal with some pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, low fat cream cheese, and granola for a really healthy, delicious oatmeal!!

it also makes some really good granola, cinnamon rolls, pumpkin bread, brownies, shakes and smoothies, cakes, chili, curry, ice cream... pumpkin is the great masquerader!

[magiesmom]

eat it with leftovers as a veggie with a little butter and lots of black pepper.
Add it to soup, it makes a nice thickener.

[tzanghi]

+1 on Pumpkin Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie!

[dfrostnh]

Make pumpkin biscuits or pumpkin rolls (like squash rolls)? I have a pumpkin swirl brownie recipe to try. A quick google found some recipes that requires a cup of pumpkin pure.