Great Soups for Cold Weather

Lately it has been so cold, which I am LOVING!! So of course I have made my two favorite cold weather soups. They are so easy, and are great for lunch the next day, leftovers, or popping in the freezer for later. These soups will warm your soul and are super healthy.

The two soups- Split Pea and Baked Potato are American classics. Recipes to these can be found in many places with many variations, but these recipes, my friends, are tried and true:) Both which I may add were family favorites growing up! So these are definitely "vintage" and have been passed down from my dear mother:)

1. Baked Potato Soup

INGREDIENTS:
4 Large Baking Potatoes
2/3 C Butter
2/3 C Flour
6 C Milk
3/4 t Salt
1/2 t Pepper
4 Chopped Grn. Onions (divided)
12 Slices Bacon Chopped (div)
5 oz. Shredded Cheddar (div)
8 oz. carton Sour Cream

-Wash potatoes, poke potatoes several times witha fork, and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hr.
-Let cool, cut potatoes lengthwise, and scoop pulp (set aside).
-In heavy sauce pan over low heat, melt butter.
-Add flour, stirring until smooth, cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
-Gradually add milk stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until mix is thick and bubbly.
-Add potato pulp, salt, pepper, 2 T green onions, 1/2 C bacon, 1 C cheese.
-Cook until thoroughly heated, and stir in sour cream.
-Add extra milk (or flour) if needed for desired thickness.
-Serve and top with remaining green onion, bacon and cheese.
ENJOY!

2. Split Pea Soup

Okay- I know, I know! Split Pea Soup has a bad rep! The color isn't pretty, its not the most pleasing to the eye- BUT I promise its delicious and it couldn't be better for your BOD:) I would also like to add that this recipe is one that my mother found in the Dallas Morning News in February of 1979. I have the actual news clipping she cut and used to make this. The paper is tinted brown and fragile now, but it makes me so happy knowing she clipped this out to cook when she was pregnant with my oldest brother, Victor. I definitely agree with her- this recipe would be great for a new mommy with a growing baby!

INGREDIENTS:
1 Lb. Dried Split Peas
1 Lb. Meaty Pork Hock
1 C Chopped Onion
1 C Sliced Carrots
1/2 C Sliced Celery
2 Quarts Water
2 t Salt
1/2 t dried Marjoram leaves
1/4 t Pepper

-Combine ingredients in a 5-quart Dutch oven and bring to a boil
-Reduce heat to low and cover for atleast 2 hours
-When soup is dense, serve (omit pork hock)
-Top with desired grated cheese, sour cream, and/or cherry:)
ENJOY!

I hope you all love these family favorties as much as we do! My hubby now loves these just as I did when I ate these growing up. Happy winter!

So much to be thankful for...

It has been much longer than I intended since I posted an update. Things have been so busy around the Vyvial house, but life couldn't be better:)

1. I passed my EC-6 certification test and have finished all of my certification and training classes, woohoo! Now I am working on my resume and have been subbing a ton. It has been a blast!

2. We had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving with both sides of our family. Thanksgiving day we celebrated with the Vyvial/Bilek side and had a fabulous day with our loved ones. That evening we jumped in the car and drove to Fredricksburg to be with my side of the family and stayed there with family for a few days. It was perfect!

Girls Day in Fredricksburg:)

3. We are officially ONE WEEK away from the wedding of my sister in law Emily and her fiance Rusty. This coming Saturday is the big day and we couldn't be more excited for the two love birds. Lately we have enjoyed showers and wedding festivities getting ready for the big day. Last weekend we threw Emily a Bachelorette Party and Lingerie shower at our house. It was fab! And such a blast! Pictures of this to come:) Here are some pictures of their couples shower at the Taylors.

4. Its Christmas time and nothing makes me happier! The house is decorated, the tree is lit, its cold out, and we have been enjoying many cozy nights at home with a fire and the pups. Does is get any better?

xoxo

Certification Update

Thank you to all my friends and fam for the love and support in my journey towards becoming a teacher. For an update: I have been taking classes on Tuesdays and Saturdays as well as online classes. My Tuesday/Saturday classes end December 11th, phew! And I have completed my online classes. Hooray! Now I am preparing for my actual certification tests. My Early Childhood-6th Grade certification test is this coming Monday. I pass and I am certified to teach these grade levels in the state of Texas. I have been studying like crazy. I have to admit it is a little bit of an adjustment studying for a major test after being out of school for a few years. But I have been able to buckle down and tackle it. Please keep me in your prayers on Monday. I will keep you all posted. Then, I will be taking my Junior High certification test in January. Meanwhile, I have been subbing in Sealy a bunch and am completely loving it! I have met some wonderful people. I am also in the middle of my sub training for Katy. Hopefully I will start subbing in Katy come December. This subbing is awesome because I get to experience different grade levels to see what I like. At this point I am still very open to younger and older grade levels. But, we will see:) Thank you all for keeping me in your prayers! xoxo

Home Updates

After seven months in our new home, we are finally settled in. Phew! We have worked so hard on making it unique to us and are finally ready to show it off. Enjoy a few snapshots of the place we like to call home!

Master Bedroom and Bath (paint color, Restoration Hardware Silver Sage)

Office and Guest Bedroom (paint color, Sherwin Williams Nomadic Dessert)

Guest Bedroom
Guest Bath (paint color-Behr Toffee Crunch)

Family Room, Kitchen and Breakfast Nook (paint color, Sherwin Williams Latte)

Dining Room and Living Room (paint color, Sherwin Williams Lemon Verbena)

Entry (also SW Latte)

As you can see, I did alot of research and testing of paint colors. I feel like paint adds so much to a house. I decided to omit pictures of our 4th bedroom:) Currently it functions as a catch all for gifts, wrapping paper, crafts, and storage. Not the prettiest sight. But, one day it will become a nursery. It is in the perfect location for a nursery, directly beside the master. I hope you enjoyed your tour!

Finally!!

We are so excited that with this cold weather we are finally able to have a fire in our new home. And June loves it too;) It makes for very cozy fall nights! We were so happy to be home with the fire last night we decided to ditch our regular routine of eating out on Friday nights to stay in. Happy Fall Y'all!!

Halloween

Halloween weekend was a blast! Saturday night Adam and I dressed up for a Halloween party that our good friends Ashlee and Derek Beeman hosted. Ashlee decorated the house perfectly. It was tons of fun! We went as Cruella Deville and William Wallace from Braveheart. We had so much fun dressing up and even more fun with our friends at the part-tay! Later we met up with my parents for a couple drinks as they were coming from a Halloween party as well!







Sunday night, Hayley and Garman came over with their pup Ryder for Halloween. We hung out, had a yummy chili dinner, and they even joined us in passing out candy:) We had such a fun evening! And even met a few new neighbors. Of course the dogs all had a good time as well;) Don't you just love Adam and Garman's costumes??