How to make Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Have you ever wondered  what to do with the seeds from the inside of your pumpkins?  Besides giving them a toss in the trash or using them as compost, why not enjoy them as a wonderful treat?

Pumpkin seeds are the perfect healthy snack.  Whether you are single or have kids, anyone can enjoy these.  They are also great for packing in lunches.  Take them with you to your office or put them in your child’s lunch box.  No mess involved and no guilt.

When you are hosting a party, these are also a unique thing to serve in a dish.  Most hosts put a variety of nuts in dishes.  Why not some pumpkin seeds to add a little Holiday touch?  Your guests will love them and enjoy the change in what’s offered.

Here is my step by step tutorial on how to make roasted pumpkin seeds with a variety of recipes you can use.

Items Needed:

• Pumpkin
• Large knife
• Cutting board
• Medium sized bowl
• Large spoon
• Compost or trash
• Cookie sheet
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Water
  

  ---

• You need to pick your choice pumpkin either out of the garden or buy one from the store.  Then wash the outside and cut it in half.
• Clean out the seeds with a spoon and place them in a bowl.
• The extra innards from the pumpkin you can put in your compost or in the trash.
• Once your pumpkin halves are cleaned out, you can put them on a cookie sheet and pour a little water on the bottom.
• Place pumpkin halves in the oven at 350 degrees and cook until they’re soft.  About 35-45 minutes.
• While the pumpkins are cooking, you can clean your seeds in water, pulling out any extra pumpkin strands that have been left.  
• At this point, some people soak the seeds in salt and some just get them ready to bake.  Either way they taste just as good.
• Now, you can take another cookie sheet or wait for your pumpkin halves in the oven to be done.  Regardless the seeds will now go on your choice cookie sheet.  Be sure to spread them out.
• Back to your pumpkin halves baking in the oven.  When they are finished, pull them out and set aside.
• Place your sheet of seeds in the already warmed oven and bake until desired texture.  You’ll notice when they turn a golden brown, that’s usually a good time to pull them out and transfer them into a bowl.
• Adding a little olive oil to the bowl, take a spoon and stir.  Now add your salt to taste.
• Once you have the desired taste, place in a nice dish and serve.
• Now back to the pumpkins.  Scrape out the pumpkins and measure into a zip lock bag.  I measure either 2 cups or 4 cups because my Pumpkin Pie  recipe calls for that amount.

You are now finished, and have baked pumpkin you can put in your freezer to make pies with, and roasted pumpkin seeds still sitting in your dish you can enjoy.  As promised I will leave you some extra recipes below.  Some sweet, spicy and some salty.