Crock Pot Pumpkin Puree

Thanks to my friend Kathy from Healthy Slow Cooking I am now making the easiest crock pot pumpkin puree EVER! She had the best technique of NO work involved before cooking the pumpkin that I had ever seen. It simply requires washing the pumpkin, forking it and putting in the crock pot. That's it. Very simple.

You may be wondering what kind of pumpkin to use for this. I asked the powers that be (the people that grow the pumpkins) and they recommend the "Pie Pumpkins" or "Sugar Pumpkins". They are 6 - 8 inches in diameter and are not as stringy as the carving pumpkins we make jack-o-lanterns out of. Here is a picture of one:I was able to fit 3 - 4 of these pumpkins into a 6 quart oval crock pot. So I had a couple of crock pots going at one time to utilize the most amount of pumpkin puree as possible. Cut the stem as close to the pumpkin as possible. It will allow you more room than you think.Remove any stickers and rinse well.Poke the pumpkin with a fork in 3 or 4 places around the sides of the pumpkin.Layer as many pumpkins as you can in one crock pot (I used a 6 quart and fit 4 - 6" pie pumpkins easily).Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours.Remove the cooked pumpkins with a large serving spoon. Cut the cooked pumpkins into quarters.Remove skin (it easily pinches off with tongs), throw away and scoop seeds out with the spoon you used remove the pumpkins from the crock pot. Make sure to put the seeds to the side for roasting later.... Place all the cooked pumpkin flesh into a large bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher. If you have a food mill or immersion blender you could use either one of those also (I used a food mill for a smoother texture).Use in any recipe that calls for Pure Pumpkin or Pumpkin Puree.FYI: When a recipe calls for (1) 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree you can use 2 cups of your crock pot pumpkin puree in it's place.