Blog - Inside BruCrew Life

Sparkling Blackberry Peach Tea

An icy mug of this Sparkling Blackberry Peach Tea and a chair on the back porch is the way to relax in the summer. This easy two ingredient drink is refreshing and fruity.

Earlier this summer my husband learned a very important lesson about living in Texas. This state is extremely large and to get to just about anything you need to drive 2-4 hours.

When we left to drive back to Indiana to visit friends and family, we had to cross about 3 hours of Tesas canyons. There are a few little towns at the beginning, and then nothing for quite a long stretch. My husband thought that our little car had plenty of gas and could make it 3 hours to a gas station on the other side of the state.

But a little car that is weighed down with 5 people and a luggage rack uses more gas than normal because in the middle of the canyons, our car said it had about 20 miles of gas left. And there was no gas station or town in sight.

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Mexican Street Corn Chicken Salad

Satisfy your salad cravings with this Mexican Street Corn Chicken Salad. This easy salad comes together in minutes, and everyone will love the flavors in this healthy dinner recipe.

Hello, my name is Jocelyn, and I am a dessert lover. So when I get a craving for a giant salad for dinner, I run to the store ASAP for the ingredients we need.

Me wanting salad in the middle of the day is not normal...at all. Craving peanut butter bars is much more of a real thing.

Maybe all the workouts we do in our garage gym and all the meal replacement shakes are finally triggering some need to eat healthy. At least for today anyway. I just really wanted salad for dinner, and for some odd reason it had to have grilled corn on it. I don't know what was up with my tastebuds, but I went with it.

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Banana Pancakes

Banana Pancakes are a sweet start to the day. Bursting with banana flavor, the batter mixes up easily in a blender.

I don't think I will ever get tired of buying bananas. They are just so versatile because you can eat them or bake with them. Of course, I'm a total snob when it comes to eating a banana. I just can't eat them after they begin to ripen. Give me a green banana any day!

The other day I wanted a banana for my morning snack, but they were all yellow with brown spots. I thought it was time I got over my ripe banana phobia, so I went ahead and ate one. Well, I ate part of one. After choking down a few bites of mushy banana I had to throw the rest away. Ripe bananas are only good for baking things like banana Reese's cookies or banana bread. Maybe one day, I will like ripe bananas, but this was definitely not that day.

I did find another use for those ripe bananas though. My kids love pancakes for breakfast, so I usually have a big batch of this funfetti chocolate chip pancake mix in a container in the pantry. It is easy to whip up a batch of pancakes from this mix and freeze them for the rest of the week.

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Ten Tips for Visiting The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Going to a theme park on vacation can be fun or exhausting. Here are Ten Tips for Visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter with your family. These tips can also be used for any theme park you visit.

This summer we took our kids on vacation to Florida. After a major life move and adjusting to a new school and job, it was a much needed breath of fresh air to do "nothing" for a few days.

Going to the beach is our family's favorite type of vacation. As we planned our trip to Orlando, we worked a few days at the beach into the plans as well. We flew into Orlando, and then rented a car to drive to Tampa where we spent 2 days lounging in the sand and sun. Palm trees are my jam for sure! There is something about blue skies, clear water, and bright sunshine that just makes everything seem right.

Next stop was Universal Studios and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Diagon Alley wasn't around the last time we had been at Island's of Adventure, so our kids were so excited for the new rides and attractions.

I have to admit, so were we. It seriously feels like you are walking into a secluded world when you walk through the gates into that part of the parks. There is something so magical about it.

As I looked back at our pictures and thought about how relaxing this trip was, I came up with some Harry Potter theme park tips to make your trip easier. I hope you enjoy the pictures and use these tips if you ever plan a trip to a major theme park. You can also check out our family fun at Walt Disney World if you are headed to both parks any time soon.
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Banana Nutella Blonde Brownies

Swirls of chocolate make these gooey Banana Nutella Blonde Brownies a delicious way to use up those ripe bananas on the counter.

CLICK HERE TO SAVE THE RECIPE FOR LATER!

Are you surprised to see more banana treats staring at you? I'm serious about changing the blog name to Bonkers for Bananas because I seem to bake with banana on a pretty regular basis. I mean this zucchini banana cake just happened a few days ago, and here we are with more banana!

Well, except that then I would have to deal with all the changes and SEO and whatever else goes with doing that. Yeah, never mind. I'm sticking with this blog name forever because that means less work and hassle for me.

So, back to the bananas on the counter. It seems like every week I have a few black bananas that get left in the corner of the counter. If my husband had his way, they would get tossed out every time. He still doesn't realized that the blacker the banana, the better it makes your baked goods. I'll convert him one day. [Read more...]

No Bake Lemon Macaroon Cheesecake

You will love the layers in this No Bake Lemon Macaroon Cheesecake. The sweet cookie crust, creamy cheesecake, and tart lemon curd work so well together.

Can you believe that it is August 1st already? Summer has flown by so quickly this year! In fact, the past 7 months have gone by in a blink of an eye. It seems crazy that we have been in TX for that long already.

At least it is still crazy hot here, so it will still feel like summer here when the kiddos go back to school in a few weeks. Hot weather means more no bake desserts around here need to happen.

I have already shared 7 new ones this summer, so what's a few more, right? I mean we can always use more things like Nutella no bake cookies, right? [Read more...]

Broccoli Cheese Stuffed Pork Tenderloins

These Broccoli Cheese Stuffed Pork Tenderloins are a delicious meal to enjoy from the grill this summer. Lots of gooey, melted cheese is our favorite way to do dinner around here.

One of my favorite things to do is watch cooking shows on tv. I think I enjoy it because I can watch without the stress of having to make something in a certain timeframe.

I like to take my time in the kitchen. Usually taking more time means less mistakes and less food to thow away because of making mistakes.

Of course, that doesn't stop me from watching shows like Chopped where they have a certain number of ingredients they have to use in their dish and have it submitted to the judge's table in a certain timeframe. I love the excitement that comes as they open the basket and find the crazy ingredients they have been given to create with.

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Skinny Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes

These Skinny Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes are a great way to get more protein in your breakfast which is the perfect way to start out any day.

After a few different vacations and traveling this summer, I think we are all ready to get back to a good routine. Well, ok, maybe just get back to good heathy eating habits. The first few trips we went on, I did really good with eating ok.

But our last trip we drove 18 hours to visit family and friends. And when you are stuck in a moving vehicle for that long, it can get boring, and mindless eating happens a little too often.

I tried to plan ahead and brought some meal replacement shakes. It was a good thought, but I think we only drank 2 out of the entire 8 days we were gone. Plan gone wrong there.

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Strawberry Rocky Road Fudge

This easy Strawberry Rocky Road Fudge is loaded with marshmallows, pecans, and chocolate chunks. It's a great no bake recipe for when it is too hot to bake.

I recently found something I do not like about our new house. My husband found two different kinds of spiders out in our driveway and garage. This is not cool!

We are not just talking little daddy long leg spiders either. One was a black widow and one was a brown recluse...I think it's time to burn down the house.

Ok, so that might be a little dramatic, but seriously spiders like that are not allowed here. Maybe it's time to invest in some bug maintenance for around our property because I don't want to find anymore! [Read more...]

Mini Lemon Donut Muffins

These Mini Lemon Donut Muffins are a refreshing little treat to enjoy in the morning. The little bite size is perfect for grabbing a few on the go.

It's amazing to me how quickly your body gets used to hot weather…and how quickly you forget about humidity. We just got back from a trip up north to visit family and friends, and while we were there the weather was all over the place.

It's crazy for it to be in the 70's in July, but that's what it was for a few days. Of course, that didn't stop our kiddos from swimming in the pool with their cousins. Have pool, will swim is always their motto!

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