I love Thanksgiving but you know what I don’t love? The stress of planning holiday gatherings. This year instead of trying to do too much, I’m tempted to do very little. Instead, I’m delegating. Already I sent an email out to four of my siblings asking them to reply to me what dishes they will be bringing. Most years I look forward to the planning of our annual family Thanksgiving dinner but this year I don’t have it in me. I wish I did, but I don’t. This is me being honest. Ask me in a week how I’m feeling and I might feel differently.
Most days I still struggle with exhaustion. Oddly, my sleep pattern has not returned to normal since coming home from Ethiopia. Normally I work after the kids go to bed. I relish in being a night owl burning the midnight oil and working on this blog. But most nights you will find me in bed no later than 9 pm and waking up around 5 am. This has been very difficult and disruptive. No longer do I have long hour stretches of quietness to work. Instead, the quiet morning hours are non-producing since I can’t seem to wake up to an alert state of mind to get work done. The other hours of my day are busy with taking care of my kids and managing the house. I’m not complaining, just explaining what my life is like currently.
But you know what’s nice about Thanksgiving? I find myself thinking a lot about everything I’m thankful for. Even though Thanksgiving cooking is stressful, I am thankful for so many things.
For instance, Dad’s birthday is Monday. This is his second birthday we will honor since his passing. I’m thankful for just how well mom has adjusted and how our grieving has become acceptance as we’ve moved on and forward in our lives.
I’m thankful my husband and I are in a good groove in our marriage. It might be strange to point this out but in a day and age where many people we know are struggling, separating, and divorcing, I am thankful we are doing remarkably well. As in, we are not just going through the motions of being married, we actually enjoy being married to one another. If you knew of our struggles 10 years ago, you would say this current sentiment is nothing short of a miracle.
The kids are active in sports, clubs, and other activities. As much as I complain about being a full-time driver, I’m thankful for the opportunities they are pursuing. Especially considering, both my husband and I weren’t as fortunate.
I am thankful for family and friends who bring us joy each day by their encouragement, words, deeds, and friendship.
I am thankful to have had the opportunity to go to Ethiopia and see the world a whole different way.
Most of all, I am thankful for the gift of grace and love. I don’t talk about my Christian faith here often but how can I not acknowledge how thankful I am for Christ’s love for me? Which is the same love He has for you.
When I slow down long enough to take my eyes off of myself, I realize just how much I have to be thankful for. And if you’re reading this, I’m thankful for you, too.
Today I’m sharing a recipe that has been simmering in my head all week. I wanted to create a stress-free dessert which didn’t require all that much effort. When I put it all together, it turned out way better than I expected. These deep-fried pumpkin pie wontons are dangerous. Like, get them away from me or I’ll eat 10 of them dangerous. Made with canned pumpkin pie filling (yes, I cheated and used canned pumpkin pie filling for the sake of ease), I doctored the filling up just slightly by adding a touch of spice to it before deep frying them and coating them with cinnamon-sugar.
After I made them I kept 5 of them at home so everyone could eat one piece and I took the rest to soccer practice. I offered one dessert piece to parents and players and they disappeared very quickly with requests for more. Sharing the love is a beautiful thing.
One thing I haven’t tried is to make the wontons in advance and freeze them until I’m ready to fry them, like traditional wontons. This will be my next experiment and I’ll come back and report my results. If this were the case, I could make a ton of these in advance and cook them up right before serving. Wouldn’t that be awesome?
But for now, I think you should make these soon. Like today. Keep a couple for yourself and give the rest away. I guarantee you will make someone happy with these babies and perhaps you will come away thankful yourself.
The full recipe along with step-by step photos can be found on my new post at PBS Parents here.
They look really crispy. Once I have cooked them and had some leftovers, how do I make them stay crisp?
Deep fry pumpkin pie wontons, such a new idea for a pie to beat? Thank you for sharing such new recipe and how to prepare it. Par from the existing apple, pineapple,egg pies and many more, we can add this as an option.
thanks for the recipe, it looks crunchy and yummy.
i am going to try this.
The pumpkin pie wanton seemed so crispy and full of love. It’s so irresistible. Won’t they loose their crispiness if I still store them overnight?
Most foods are the crispiest when consumed shortly after frying. With that said, I have read of people rebaking fried foods. I’m assuming it wouldn’t be the same but I’m sure it would be good none the less.
YUM! Wontons are so fun… crunchy pumpkin pie? I like it.
Christina
http://www.foodiewithalife.com
I love this easy dessert idea, Alice! Thanks for sharing what you are thankful for, too. It’s good to get my wheels turning about the things I’m grateful for in my own life.
Happy Thanksgiving Alice.
Hi Alyssa,
I’ve heard great things about Voskamp’s book. Adding it to my reading list. As far as the recipe, you can use water. I like using the egg wash but I’ve also used water when I’m in a pinch. Yes, you can make your own cinnamon sugar, that’s how I do it. As far as the pumpkin puree, you can sweeten it with sugar and spices. Add the egg as the recipe calls for but do not add the milk. Happy Thanksgiving.
Hi Shari,
I love Oswald Chambers! My Utmost for His Highest is one of my most favorite devotionals.
Thanks Jenn!
Too bad I only came across this blog now. I would have loved to serve this on Halloween. Next year! Will definitely give it a try.
WOW and YUMMMMM! So inspired, what a GREAT idea!
This is such a wonderful and inventive idea for jazzing up pumpkin pie! Thanks for sharing! I added it to my Thanksgiving desserts round up here: http://www.grandbaby-cakes.com/2012/11/thanksgiving-everywhere.html
Thank you for a wonderful recipe and an honest post of being an exhausted but full of gratitude mom & wife!
Hi Alice,
Thank you for this post. I can’t wait to try the recipe (but I will be making it Gluten free.) I am so sorry for your exhaustion. I can totally relate. I have been in that sam state for a long time but have finally gotten the right tests done to figure out what is wrong. I wanted to offer some suggestions. (You may have already had all of these checked but if not I would HIGHLY recommend finding a Functional and Integrative Medicine Doctor where you live or a naturopath to do these tests. Most western medicine doctors aren’t too willing for numerous reasons. This is what helped me – getting my adrenal glands checked (specifically Cortisol levels and DHEA). It turns out I had adrenal fatigue contributing to major exhaustion and horrible body functions. Another would be your progesterone and estrogen levels. I had low progesterone. Lastly, I would have your thyroid checked (this means FULL thryoid testing – TSH, Free T3,T3, T4, & Free T4) If you don’t get all those checked then a proper and knowledgeable doctor wont be able to truly tell if your Thyroid is functioning correctly. I had (and have but am getting better) Hypothyroidism and Hashimotos Thyroiditis which contributes to even more malfunctions of the body – one being major fatigue. I hope this helps. I hate to see people struggle with their health and unanswered question or doctors unwilling to find the cause. If you have anymore questions please feel free to contact me via my blog or you can message me on Facebook (Jenn BR) I plan to do a full series post on my health journey and solutions in the near future on my blog.
Very beautiful and original food art…it was a pleasure and joy discovering your blog :).
I want to thank you for bringing up your Christian faith because you shed light on your true resource. To know that there are Christians out there who bring tribute to their faith but most importantly to Jesus is a beautiful thing. Not sure if you have heard of John MacArthur but he has a great website with plenty of sermons (gty.org). And google Oswald Chambers for his biography, great book! I really enjoy your website and encourage you continue in your faith 🙂
Alice,
Thanks for this honest post. And for sharing about your faith and what you are thankful for. . with everything going on in the world today, I’ve definitely also acknowledged many things I am thankful for: God’s love, my health, my family, the simple things. . that we have a roof over our heads etc.
Happy birthday to your dad. . glad to hear your mom and you all have peace .. I have a couple friends who just lost their mothers so I am praying for healing for them right now. . anyway, thank you for this lovely post!
Oh, Alice. You have just made me very, very hungry indeed.
Hi Alice,
We’ve definitely missed your blogging and recipes here. 🙂 Yes, Thanksgiving is fast approaching and I too thank God for so many things, especially Christ. I’m reading 1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp and it is changing my perspective.
Anyways, do you think I could use water instead of egg wash? When I make wontons I use water. Do you think egg wash works better?? Water has always worked for me.
Also, I don’t have time to go out and buy cinnamon sugar. Can you make your own?
Last questions: I have pumpkin puree….how do I make pie filling out of that. Like I said, I don’t have time to go out and buy anything. 🙁
Love,
Alyssa
These look wonderful. I love working with wontons!
These sound awesome!! What a lovely idea!