So I had promised to post about my annual tradition of making pumpkin pie from scratch! Let me first say that it is not something for the quick cook... because this recipe takes plenty of time and patience (unless that is, you decide to use canned pumpkin and store-bought pie crust). :-)

First, the pumpkin. I've used anything from carving pumpkins to small pie-pumpkins at the store. Doesn't matter, they all taste the same, but the larger ones are a bit more work.

You'll want to cut the pumpkin into halves and remove the seeds and fiber. Once the inside of the pumpkin is clean, place the pumpkin halfs face-down in a deep baking pan, and fill the pan with 1/4" - 1/2" of water.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, cover the pan with foil, and bake for about an hour - or until tender. With larger pumpkins, an extra 15-30 minutes can be added to the baking time.
Once the pumpkins are baked, scoop the pumpkin from the shells and mash until there are no lumps remaining. I found that pureeing the pumpkin afterward in a blender is the best.

Okay! So now you have your homemade pumpkin puree! This is the fun part. Usually I'll make a homemade pie crust, but store-bought is good too for time sake. This recipe makes enough pie mix for a 9-inch pie.

Ingredients:
One 9-inch pie crust
2 eggs
2 cups cooked pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 2/3 cups evaporated milk
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions:
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Beat eggs slightly in a deep bowl, and beat in remaining ingredients.
Pour pie filling into the pie crust, bake for 15 minutes. (I like to sprinkle nutmeg on top as well)