Instead of Halloween costums, let’s talk about pumpkin seeds and yummy snacks this time. Before you throw away those pumpkin seeds you carve out of your Jack-O-Lantern this year, think twice!! There is good dietary benefit in those seeds, not to mention a yummy snack that even the kids will love. Here’s how to prepare and cook your pumpkin seeds.

Prepping the Seeds

First, after you have scooped your pumpkin, put the seeds in a glass bowl. Next, separate the seeds from all the stringing pumpkin meat. You’ll need to do this fairly quickly because once you’ve let them sit and they’ve gotten too dry, they will be harder to clean.

Using a cold-water rinse, finish taking off what is left of the stringy meat (there will be some little bits left more than likely) off the seeds. Place a strainer in the sink so you don’t lose all that pumpkin goop in your sink drain.

Once your pumpkin seeds are completely clean, put them on a waxed paper cookie sheet to dry. You’ll leave them to dry overnight. Sorry, you can’t eat them until tomorrow.

Optional: If you like your seeds salty, you may want to let them sit in a bowl of salt water overnight. Be careful though and don’t over salt the water. Remove from bowl of water and dry as stated above.

Now that your pumpkin seeds are prepared, let’s get to the actual cooking of them. Here are both a microwave and oven baked recipe for you to choose from. Note: Preparation is the same for both of the following recipes.

Microwave Pumpkin Seed Recipe

Place salted butter in a microwavable rectangular baking dish and heat for about 30 seconds. Place seeds into pan and toss through the melted butter. Spread the seeds out evenly into one layer on the bottom of the dish. Microwave on high for about 8 minutes or until seeds are a light golden color. Make sure you stir the seeds every couple of minutes while in the microwave to prevent burning.

Oven Baked Pumpkin Seed Recipe

Spray your seeds with butter spray. Cook for 1 hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Watch for them to be lightly brown. When they are done, take them out and season with your favorite seasonings. Some popular seasonings include salt and garlic. Let them completely cool before enjoying.

Pumpkin seeds (pepitas) are not the only seeds that can be eaten this way. The seeds from butternut and acorn squash can also be cooked just like pumpkin seeds. Give them a try too.

Leftover Storage

You can store any leftovers of your pumpkin seeds in airtight containers at room temperature for up to 3 months. If you choose to refrigerate them, they will last for about a year in an air tight container.

Baked pumpkin seeds provide a great source of dietary fiber along with a nutty flavor. So, instead of popping that bag of popcorn tonight, grab your favorite Halloween movie, sit back with your toasted pumpkin seeds and enjoy.

With each annual visit to the pumpkin patch, teachers, room mothers, scout troop leaders and parents alike often wonder how to make the most of the prize pumpkin that was chosen by a child.

Forget the messy and dangerous ideas of carving. Pumpkin Painting is the perfect solution to a creative dilemma! Painting silly, goofy or scary faces or other designs can be a fun, yet relatively simple activity for children and adults.

Preschool age children can even participate in creating their own designs for their pumpkins. You certainly can’t say that about carving pumpkins!

The easiest design to paint on a pumpkin is a traditional jack-o-lantern face. But here are some other ideas for festive designs:
- silly or goofy faces
- favorite cartoon characters
- fall leaves
- scarecrow
- witch
- princess
- turkey
- spider
- ghosts
- cats
- goblin

Painting pumpkins is a very economical craft as most supplies are readily available (you probably already have some of these in your home):
- washable markers
- acrylic craft paints
- newspaper
- spray sealer
- accessories such as raffia, jewelry, hats, etc.

Before beginning, decide what design you are going to paint and trace that design onto a clean pumpkin. You can freehand the design or select one of the many designs in the ultimate e-guide for pumpkin painting, Easy Pumpkin Painting. Once you or your child has painted their first pumpkin, chances are you’ll want to paint an entire pumpkin family to proudly display at your home.

Pumpkin Painting is an annual family tradition at our house. We hope it will be at yours as well.
Easy Pumpkin Painting is a guide that contains step-by-step instructions and color photographs of exactly how to paint the cutest Halloween pumpkins. It also contains templates that you can use to paint your first pumpkin in about an hour! Easy Pumpkin Painting makes painting pumpkins, well, Easy!