Blog - Inside BruCrew Life

BruCrew Top Ten

Can anyone else believe that April is already here and gone? This year is flying by at record speeds. At this pace, Christmas will be here before we know it. I know, I know...bite my tongue!

Our kids keep reminding me that they only have about 20 school days left before summer vacation. Yikes! Time to make a summer plan, so they don't try to be on gaming units and tv's all day long!!!

It's been a while since I have done a top ten post, and I'm thinking about bringing it out of retirement once a month to share some of the fun things we have been up to and some fun finds from the wide world web. If you follow me on Instagram, you probably already saw a few of these.

1. One of the biggest and hardest thing I have ever done was to write this cookbook, but this past month I submitted the final draft to my editor. There were so many hours spent in the kitchen and on the computer putting it together. Once it actually comes out, and I see all that hard work in print, it will be all worth it. [Read more...]

Toffee Apple Bread

Slices of this Toffee Apple Bread and a cup of hot coffee are the perfect way to enjoy some quiet time in the morning or afternoon.

*I am partnering with Crunch Pak apples as a brand ambassador bringing you delicious apple recipes.

Toffee Apple Bread - shredded apples, toffee bits, and a brown sugar frosting makes this sweet bread recipe a keeper!

PIN IT NOW TO SAVE THE RECIPE FOR LATER!

Something has definitely changed in our household lately. Our kids are ignoring the cookies and treats that I make each day, and my husband has been eating more baked goods than normal.

You guys, it's crazy weird around here. Not that I'm complaining about our kids not eating sweets...because they are still pillaging the pantry for snack cakes and candy bars. They are just over baked goods, I guess.

The snacking rule after school is a fruit or veggie. They look for every loophole they can use to get around that one. I keep bags of apples and carrots on hand for those munchie moments. These fluffernutter apple nachos are even something I will approve in the afternoon. As long as I can visibly see the fruit or veggie, it's fair game!

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Road Trip to Magnolia Market

A few weeks ago, my daughter and I took a road trip to Magnolia Market in Waco, Texas. Actually, it's been more like a month ago. Wow, time sure flies when you are having fun...or when you are busy, huh?

All you Fixer Upper fans know this place well, right? I have watched a few episodes of the show, and I am a big fan of all of Chip and Joanna's work.

So, when my sister and sister-in-law said they were taking a trip out to the market before my sister moved, we decided it was worth the drive to go with them. Man, I just realized that we never took a group photo of all of us there!

Of course, it was over spring break, and I think everyone else had the same idea for some shopping fun. The place was crazy busy! I'm not sure how many buses we saw unloading at the gates as we walked up and waited in line.

The line to get in was insane! We stood in line for about 2 hours just to get to the front door. At least it was a gorgeous day with lots of sunshine and plenty of fun things to look at, and everyone there was so friendly and nice!

How cool are those old silos and the rusted Magnolia sign? I love the look of the rust and the blue skies behind it!

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Letting the "Son-Shine" In

How often are you letting the "Son-Shine" in your life?

Do you ever have those days?

The days where things just do not seem to be going right? Maybe a cake flopped? Or overflowed in the oven? A co-worker said or did something that made you angry. Your spouse didn't pick up the slack around the house. You didn't get something done by your deadline. Someone else got a better deal than you did. That list could keep going on and on with all the things that could happen.

I have to be honest...I have those days in my life too!

It's easy to let the things in this life get you down. We can very easily fall into that bad habit of comparing our life to someone else's "perfect" life and wishing we could be more like them or have what they have. [Read more...]

Dark Chocolate Layer Cake

This Dark Chocolate Layer Cake is filled with a fluffy frosting and topped with hot fudge, pecans, and cherries. It is the perfect dessert to enjoy for any life celebration.

I am officially old. At least that's what our kids keep telling me over and over. I guess I remember thinking my parents were ancient when they were my age.

But honestly, I do not feel my age at all. They say 40 is the new 20, so that must be why I still feel young. Although, I have seen and been around some 20 year olds...and I don't think I want to relive those years again. 20 year olds look and act about 15 some days, so I think I'm going to start saying 40 is the new 30.

Usually by 30 you have settled down and figured out what life is all about and what you want to do with your life. You also usually realize that cake every once in a while is a pretty good thing to enjoy.

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She said, He Said

She Said: Ok, everyone. Time to take our annual Easter pictures after church.
He Said: Why? You aren't going to use them any time soon, right?

She Said: We take matchy, matchy family pics every Easter. We can't break tradition now.
He Said: We are supposed to be at dinner right now. Can't we do this later?

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Avocado Shrimp Cobb Salad

This easy Avocado Shrimp Cobb Salad is so easy to put together when you are wanting to eat fresh and healthy. Mix in your favorite veggies and meats to have your own customized salad.

Today is the day I give up sugar for 10 days. Are you laughing with me right now, too? But seriously...I am giving it another go. Every few months, I need to detox and get all the sugar from my system with an herbal cleanse.

I can always tell when I have been eating too much of the sweet stuff. I start to feel sluggish and slow, and I start to crave salads. Despite consistently working out, I'm not seeing any changes in my weight. I blame all the cheesecake for that!

Since the scale hasn't really changed, I guess the workouts are worth all the bites of cheesecake goodness. But with the short season just around the corner, it is time to ramp it up. [Read more...]

Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing - Chick-Fil-A Copycat

This copycat Chick-Fil-A Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing is made with fresh ingredients and has an incredible flavor. It's perfect on salads, but also makes a wonderful veggie dip.

A clear Mason jar filled with avocado salad dressing with a spoon lifting dressing out of the top.

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Looking for a new salad dressing recipe to jazz up your salads? We've got you covered. This avocado salad dressing tastes great on any type of greens and is perfect for dipping veggies in.

It is made from all natural ingredients like avocados, lime juice, and cilantro. These give it an incredible flavor that will take any dish from good to great.

And with ingredients you can pronounce, you will feel good about what you are putting into your body.

Why You Will Love this Copycat Dressing

The avocado lime ranch dressing from Chick-fil-a is so good, but it is high in calories and fat. Plus, you can't buy the dressing by itself. So, I set out to make a healthy copycat recipe for it.

Did you know that it is extremely easy to make your own salad dressings? It's true. In just 5 minutes you can make a jar of this homemade avocado lime dressing to liven up any salad.

It's an easy and tasty sauce to have ready for healthy eating. We love serving it with this shrimp cobb salad.

The avocado salad dressing recipe also makes a great veggie dip. This creamy green sauce will quickly become your new favorite healthy condiment. Once you try it, we know you won't go back to store-bought dressings again.

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Raspberry Nutella Brownie Cake

This Raspberry Nutella Brownie Cake has layers of brownie, fudge frosting, Nutella mousse, and fresh berries. It is an impressive dessert to share after any meal.

*This post was sponsored by The J.M. Smucker Company. I am partnering with them as a brand ambassador creating recipes from products that they send me.

It's desserts like these that make me keep going out into our garage gym! The past few months I have been slacking a bit in the early morning work outs. Staying up late at night working on projects has me too beat to do the 6 am thing most days.

But because I like to savor delicious treats...ok, fine, shove my face full of warm triple chocolate cookies...I still make sure I get out and do a work out some time in the morning. Ok, ok, I'm out there by noon most days. Doing some cardio is a nice way to break up the baking.

The other day I decided I really needed to get going in the morning, so I got up and joined my hubby for an early work out. You guys? I think he was punishing me for not getting up early every day! That workout was killer!! [Read more...]

Peanut Butter Mousse Cake

This fun Peanut Butter Mousse Cake has layers of white cake and a fluffy peanut butter filling. It's an impressive dessert to share at any party.

A slice of white cake with white frosting topped with colorful Easter candies.

So, I have some big, monstrous, fun news to share with you! And of course, we can't celebrate this news without cake, right? Something about cake says party to me!!!

Have you noticed lately that I have slowed down on the recipes and posts around here? Some of that is due to moving and life changes. Packing up an entire household and moving across the country to learn a new culture and area can be taxing. But honestly, that isn't the big reason for slowing down...

Most of my time and energy has been going into cheesecaking everything!!! If you have been reading our blog for a few years, you know that we love to include cheesecake in just about everything! You may have also noticed that there has been a shortage of cheesecake recipes here in the past 6 months or so.

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