Blog - Inside BruCrew Life

Cherry Chocolate Chip Scones

Cherry Chocolate Chip Scones are a delightful way to start out any morning. Who can resist the perfect-for-your-Valentine combo of chocolate and cherries?

Our morning routine is getting later and later each day. We started off last month with everyone getting up early for school and having extra time in the morning before we had to leave. Everyone was getting used to a new area and routine, so getting up early was easy to do. As the weeks have gone by, everyone is starting to hit the snooze button a little bit more each morning.

I wish I could say it was just the kids doing that, but that little snooze button on my alarm has been getting some good use lately too. My husband and I have good intentions of being up early to do our work out of the day, but lately we have been getting up in just enough time to only do a short routine.

Every night I set the alarm and tell myself that tomorrow is the day to start getting up with the first alarm, but then the warm, cozy bed convinces me otherwise in the early morning hours.

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Strawberry Mousse Cake

Layers of vanilla cake, strawberry filling, and chocolate frosting make this easy Strawberry Mousse Cake a pretty and delicious dessert.

*I am partnering with Lucky Leaf this year as a blog ambassador bringing you delicious recipes using pie filling.

Each month I have a new flavor that I tend to go crazy for. Sometimes it coincides with a holiday or what is popular at the moment. Obviously in the fall and winter, pumpkin and peppermint get plenty of loving in my kitchen. Then usually I turn to coconut in January because I am trying to think tropical thoughts while snow is falling outside.

Since February is the love month, anything red is fair game. Right now I am gaga for strawberry everything! It might be my new go to flavor every year at this time.

Lucky for me, my family likes the red fruit in just about anything I can think of to bake. They are just happy I moved on from coconut...that one never gets as many smiles. [Read more...]

Reese's S'mores Cookie Pizza

Layers of cookie, candies, and marshmallows make this Reese's S'mores Cookie Pizza a decadent and amazing dessert! This pizza is the perfect sweet snack for after dinner or on game day.

After a month of being in a new place, my hubby and I are totally failing at this home exercise thing. It's not for lack of equipment. We bought a few pieces that we could work out with, and my hubby built a rack with pull-up bars. I'm pretty impressed with how legit it looks.

The problem comes at 5:45 AM when the alarm goes off. Neither one of us are very good motivators in the getting up department. Part of that is that the garage is so cold early in the morning. That alone doesn't make me want to leave the warm covers. Not to mention squats, kettle bells, and burpees are killers!

A few days that we skipped the morning routine, I have gone to the garage later in the day and worked out. That is one good benefit to the gym being right there. I have no excuses for not doing something each day! Especially when I can't stop eating things like this Reese's s'mores cookie pizza. [Read more...]

Chicken Alfredo Calzones

These easy Chicken Alfredo Calzones are loaded with meat, vegetables, and cheese. Little stuffed pizza pockets made from biscuit dough are the perfect recipe for game day or for dinner time with kids.

A Chicken Alfredo Calzone cut in half and stacked on top of each other on a white plate showing the cheesy middle

Our family loves Friday pizza night. We usually have some sort of pizza and watch movies or play games every weekend. There are a few weeks that we change it up and order out, but for the most part we make our easy homemade pizza dough, and everyone creates their own personal pizza.

Since pizza for dinner is always a winner, I knew our kiddos would love these little hand-held cheesy calzones in the middle of the week.

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Almond Berry Baked Oatmeal

Almond Berry Baked Oatmeal is perfect for cold mornings. Get the kids out of bed with the wafting scent of this delicious breakfast.

Cold winter days call for a warm breakfast full of bright, cheery fruit. This almond berry baked oatmeal will make you smile no matter how cold your day starts. I have been trying to come up with some different breakfast options for our family to eat each weekday morning.

Our kids tend to get in a routine of eating the same foods over and over, until they get tired of it and do not want that any more. After two weeks of vanilla pineapple smoothies and other fruit smoothies, they have moved on to frozen waffles with peanut butter and chocolate syrup.

I have a feeling that by next week they will be looking for something different to start the day with.

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Chocolate M&M Cookies

These easy Chocolate M&M Cookies are rich, chewy, and loaded with Butterfingers and mini M&M's candies! Great treat for packing in lunches or snacking on after school!

Are you ready for some confession time? I have been slacking in the school lunch making department. Wait, before you get on me for not doing my job as a mom, let me clarify a few things.

I make three lunches every morning after my workout. But...the past three weeks the lunches have been packed with treats and snacks from the grocery store. Are you completely appalled yet? Yes, I am this crazy baker girl, yet my kids have been eating Little Debbie's and bagged chips. It happens.

We are still getting into the swing of things here in a new house and town. So, convenience from the grocery store has been a staple. Now that things are a little more settled and routine, maybe some frosted rainbow chip brownies or moose tracks cookies will appear in those brown bags. [Read more...]

Best Fudge Bottom Banana Cream Pie

Layers of fudge, fresh bananas, and banana pudding make this Fudge Bottom Banana Cream Pie the best dessert to end any meal with.

Fudge Bottom Banana Cream Pie - layers of fudge, banana, and banana cheesecake pudding makes this pie taste so good. Make this easy recipe for dessert. #bananacream #banana #pie #recipe #blackbottompie

The past few weeks we have been adjusting to a new area, schools, and house. Going from a small private school to a much larger public school was hard at first for our kids, but they have been troopers and learned the building, schedules, and school id's in no time at all.

Kids really are resilient and can adjust to new things so much quicker than adults.

So far in the house we have painted kitchen cabinets and the ceiling and walls in the living, kitchen, and dining area. And by we painted, I really mean my hubby painted while I drank my Dark Chocolate Latte and pointed out spots that he missed. That's the part of painting that I'm good at.

Just for the record, I did use the small roller and paint the wall color in the small spots. I was a little nervous about the yellow color we picked out, but now that it is all done with white trim and a few other places white, I really like it.

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Pizza Minestrone Soup

This easy Pizza Minestrone Soup is loaded with noodles and pizza toppings. This easy dinner is perfect for cold winter days. It is ready in less than 30 minutes.

Something about cold weather just makes me crave soup. A comforting bowl of soup just seems to warm you up from your head to your toes. Did you know that January is actually National Soup Month?

Since it is soup month, I felt like the only thing to do was make some more soup. We have a few that we tend to make over and over, like this chicken noodle soup and pizza soup.

Last month I made a variation of my hubby's soup. A few years ago he started throwing pizza toppings into tomato soup and a new family favorite was born. I took that soup and changed it slightly to make a new favorite. Gotta love when you are cleaning out the cupboards and refrigerator, and you can create a dish that everyone loves! [Read more...]

Faith Step

Each January for the past few years I have chosen a word that I feel God has put on my heart describing something I want to work on for the year in my personal and family life. This past year has been a roller coaster ride for our family, so I chose the two words Faith Step because it sums up everything we have gone through over the past 12 months.

A few years ago my husband, Jeremy, felt that God was calling him into full-time ministry as a worship pastor. We have been plugged in and going strong since then.

It has been neat to see how God has provided for us as we made that first faith step 3 years ago. It was scary as we took a 60% pay cut from a great job, but God answered back and gave me a fun job through blogging.

It has been an incredible journey...but God had another step He wanted us to take!!

Hebrews 11:1 "To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see."

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Mocha Hot Chocolate Sugar Cookie Bars

These fun Mocha Hot Chocolate Cookie Bars have a coffee, chocolate, and marshmallow twist to the classic sugar cookie bar. They are easy to make and frost, and even easier to eat.

So, remember I said that we were all about healthy eating and working out now that the new year had started? Oh, that's still going strong...it's the getting up and being happy about it that needs some work.

Yesterday morning was our first morning setting the alarms for 5:30 AM. That's a rude awakening after a few weeks of sleeping in. Let's just say that I wasn't a cheery, happy person for about an hour or so. Complaining and whining may have occurred out in the cold garage as we jump roped and rowed.

One thing my hubby and I have discovered in those early morning minutes is that we can't talk to each other until both of us have woken up and have made it past those grouchy minutes. Ok, so mostly that's just me. Yes, I'm a bear! Early mornings and I just do not like each other. [Read more...]

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