accepting pumpkin donations: toasted pumpkin seeds

are you carving pumpkins this year? are you throwing out your seeds? please don't. give them to me. i will toast them and enjoy them instead of letting them go to waste. see method below (thanks to elise at simply recipes with a few minor modifications of course).

my cute husband and daughter getting ready to carve our pumpkin

toasted pumpkin seeds
modified from simply recipes

one medium sized pumpkin
salt
cooking spray

1. preheat oven to 400°F. cut open the pumpkin and use a strong metal spoon to scoop out the insides. separate the seeds from the stringy core. rinse the seeds.

2. in a small saucepan, add the seeds to water, about 2 cups of water to every half cup of seeds. add a half tablespoon of salt for every cup of water (more if you like your seeds saltier). bring to a boil. let simmer for 10 minutes. remove from heat and drain.

3. spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. spread the seeds out over the roasting pan, all in one layer, then spray the top with cooking spray. sprinkle with a bit more salt (i used sea salt). bake on the top rack until the seeds begin to brown, 10-20 minutes. when browned to your satisfaction, remove from the oven and let the pan cool on a rack. let the seeds cool all the way down before eating. enjoy!