1 Little, 2 Little, 3 Little Pumpkin Seeds...Yum!

Tonight we are carving our jack-o-lantern and I got to thinking about pumpkin seeds. I remember eating them at school once and thought it was cool you could toast them and make a treat out of them. I was always told to just spread them in a pan, sprinkle on a little salt, and toast them. Thing is, they never tasted very good to me. I'm not one to do a whole lot of cooking without a recipe (in fact, I've been asked on occasion to please not experiment!), so I just gave up the idea of pumpkin seeds as a snack.

Thankfully, there ARE creative people who DO experiment with foods, and other people like the results. One of them was kind enough to submit a couple of recipes to Light & Tasty Magazine a few of years ago. It changed my pumpkin seed life. I now anxiously await them every year. So, in honor of Halloween and this wonderful fall season, I share this recipe with you. I like the original recipe so much, I've never tried the others. You're on your own there.

This may have been more helpful earlier in the week, if you've already done your carving. Sorry. Buy a pumpkin on clearance on Saturday or beg seeds off your neighbor and try it out. Enjoy!


Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Light & Tasty Magazine Oct/Nov 2006
Prep: 10 Min., Bake:45 min. + cooling

2 cups pumpkin seeds
5 tsp. butter, melted
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/8-1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

In a bowl, toss pumpkin seeds with butter and Worcestershire sauce. Combine the sugar, salt, garlic powder, and cayenne; sprinkle over seeds and toss to coat.

Line a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan with foil; coat the foil with nonstick cooking spray. Spread seeds in pan. Bake at 250 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until the seeds are dry and lightly browned, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Nutrition Facts: 1/4 cup equals 95 calories, 5 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 6 mg cholesterol, 181 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1 fat, 1/2 starch.

Optional Recipes:
1) Sweet- Combine 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon and 1/8 tsp. each ground nutmeg and ground cloves.

2) Savory- Combine 1/2 tsp. each salt and paprika, 1/4 tsp. each onion powder, oregano, and dried thyme, and 1/8 tsp. pepper.

3) BBQ- Toss the seeds with 1 tsp. barbeque seasoning (in the spice section of the grocery store).

4) Mexican- Combine 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp each onion powder, dried oregano, ground cumin, and chili powder, and 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper.