Blog - Inside BruCrew Life

Cheesy Italian Pasta

This Cheesy Italian Pasta is loaded with meat, tomatoes, and cheese. It is an easy pasta dinner to enjoy on busy nights.

*Thank you so much to Best Food Facts for putting together this trip to Chicago, IL to learn more about the food we eat. This trip was sponsored and paid by Best Food Facts, along with this post. This year I am partnering with them as a blogger for their Taste program.

Do you ever stop and wonder where your food came from or how it got to the grocery store? I grew up in the country, so I am just a little familiar with farming and farm life. Our family had a few horses, and we would bale our own hay each summer. Picking up and stacking hay bales is the extent of my farm experience though.

I know that our food comes from farms and that farmers live on the farm 24/7, but I didn't fully understand it until I had a chance to chat with a few farmer's wives this past year.

Last month I had the opportunity to head to Chicago, IL and reunite with the bloggers and farmers that are part of the Taste 15 blogger program through Best Food Facts. We started with an amazing dinner at The Girl and The Goat where we caught up with each other.

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Glazed Apple Cider Muffins

A batch of these Glazed Apple Cider Muffins baking in the oven will make your house smell delicious this fall.

Two times the apple cider makes these an awesome fall breakfast muffin.

One of my favorite things to do in the fall is to head out to the apple orchards. There is something about eating a freshly picked apple out in the fields.

I also love making homemade apple pie filling when we get home. When our kids were younger they loved going with us to the orchard. We would fill a big basket with apples, then head to the stand that sold apple cider. Apple cider from the farm stands is so much better than that gallon jug at the store.

Now that our kids are older, they look at me funny when I mention doing trips like these. In fact, I didn't even mention it this year. Partly because things have been crazy busy here, and partly because I knew the family's answer.

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Caramel S'mores Fudge

This easy Caramel S'mores Fudge is loaded with marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate. It makes a great treat to package up and gift to friends and family.

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

Fall has officially made its way to the midwest. Wearing jeans and sweatshirts all the time has finally commenced. It has been cooler during the day and very chilly at night. We actually woke up to frost on the ground this morning.

It is the perfect weather for snuggling under a blanket with a hot cup of coffee. My favorite drink of the fall season is a salted caramel mocha latte. Now that I can recreate the coffee shop drink though, I try to drink them all year round, but for some reason they taste the best in the fall.

I think it is all mental. Chilly weather + sweatshirts = hot caramel coffee love. It's just how my brain works. [Read more...]

Butterfinger Reese's Fudge

Using different candies to jazz up an easy fudge is a great way to use up extra candy. This Butterfinger Reese's Fudge has two different candies in an easy white chocolate fudge. It's the perfect little treat to package up for friends and family for the holidays.

This easy white chocolate fudge is loaded with Butterfinger bars and Reese's Pieces. It's a great holiday treat!

For a while I had set out to make fudge every single month because fudge year round should really be a thing.

Have you noticed that fudge really is more popular in the holiday seasons? Why is that? I mean sweet little bites full of candy and cookies should not be limited. Am I right?

Of course when I was looking back, I realized that I haven't shared a fudge recipe here since this robin egg fudge at Easter. Obviously I'm slacking some this year. To make up for it, I have fudge today and more fudge next week. You need to make both. Trust me!

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Toffee Pretzel M&M's Popcorn

This Toffee Pretzel M&M's Popcorn is a great snack mix to add to a movie night. Adding toffee bits and M&M's give a fun candy twist to this white chocolate covered popcorn.

Toffee bits and pretzel M&M's give a fun candy twist to this white chocolate popcorn.

One thing that we try to do every weekend with our kids is have Friday night movie and pizza night.

Some nights we buy pizza, and other nights we make our own homemade pizza. The kids love knowing that we are going to do this all the time. Obviously there are some exceptions to this, but for the most part we stick to this fun tradition.

One thing that we usually make to go along with the pizza is a big bowl of popcorn. Most of the time they just add butter and salt. But I like to have a sweet popcorn to munch on, so every once in a while I cover it chocolate and then add gobs of candy. It's the best way to do popcorn, right?

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Cookies and Cream Fudge Tart

This Cookies and Cream Fudge Tart is loaded with a creamy cookie filling and decadent chocolate center.

Sometimes life is easy, and we know exactly what is going to happen and how that should go. It's easy to make plans and try to follow them.

Then there are times things happen unexpectedly, and we have no idea why something like that could happen. It's in those moments that we can rely on a wonderful Saviour, and know He has a plan for our lives. We may not understand that plan. It may not make any sense to us, but it all fits perfectly into God's plan. This doesn't always make it easier on us, but it will help us as we deal with the hurt and pain.

Today I am celebrating the life of a wonderful friend. Joan from Chocolate, Chocolate, and More was taken much too soon from this world last week. It was completely unexpected and rocked the food community. [Read more...]

Sausage Supreme Pasta Skillet

This easy Sausage Supreme Pasta Skillet is loaded with meat, cheese, and tomatoes. It is a great dinner that can be ready in under 30 minutes.

This easy pasta skillet dinner is loaded with cheese, tomatoes, and sausage and is ready in 30 minutes. Perfect comfort food for busy nights!

Yup, that is a plate of cheesy pasta staring back at you there. I have been on a mission to create a few more savory dishes around here, and so far I feel pretty good about getting one here and there to share with you.

The kids devoured this skillet dinner in a hurry. They really are my best taste testers because they will honestly tell me if they like, love, or hate a dish. Although I have gotten pretty good at making sure to put in the ingredients that they love.

Pizza is one food that we eat a lot of around here. Friday night pizza night happens on a very regular basis. This chicken supreme pasta bake has been so popular that I knew I wanted to create another easy skillet dish. This time I used a sausage supreme pizza as my inspiration. Although I did leave out the mushrooms because the taste testers here would have totally revolted if I had tried to hide them under the cheese.

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Hot Cocoa Trail Mix

This easy Hot Cocoa Trail Mix is full of chocolate covered peanuts and marshmallows. This fun hot cocoa twist makes this trail mix a great snack to munch on for movie night.

Chocolate covered marshmallows and nuts give a fun hot cocoa twist to trail mix.

Some of the movies that I remember watching over and over again as a kid are the original Star Wars trilogy. I can't even tell you how many times my brother and sisters and I would sit and watch them.

And yes, I totally pretended that I was Leia and in love with Han Solo...I'm pretty sure every girl did, right?

Fast forward many years, and now there are more movies to fill in the gaps of the story telling us how Luke and Darth Vader were connected. I have to admit these new ones just aren't the same as the old movies. Sure the actual way they make movies is better, but there is something nostalgic about those old originals. Of course, if you aren't a Star Wars fan you probably don't notice or don't care.

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Life is Full of Choices

Life is all about choices.

We all are given different opportunities each and every day. Some times those things have very clear answers in what we should do. Then there are times neither way you go is wrong. These are the times I need to watch myself closely.

Over the past 7 years I have been blogging, I have seen my desire and passion change. The first few years were random posts since it was just a hobby.

Then 3 years ago my husband went into full time ministry, and God used this hobby of mine to become a full-time job. It has been fun and exciting to see where and what God has done with my blog.

I love sharing random bits and pieces from our life along with the recipes we eat. As I continued in this job, I started working with brands and slowly all my thoughts and time began to become consumed with this job. This was a job that I finally loved and was good at. I threw myself in to it with all I had hoping to make this blog a happening business. The competitive side of me loves a good challenge. [Read more...]

Mississippi Mudslide Cake

This Mississippi Mudslide Cake is a delicious dessert to share with friends and family. Layers of homemade chocolate cake, whipped cream, cookie chunks, and more chocolate is a dream come true for chocolate lovers.

I have some crazy talented friends. My friend Jocelyn, from the Grandbaby Cakes blog, wrote an entire book on cake. Big cakes, little cakes, sheet cakes, layer cakes...you name it, it's in the book. And they are good! As I flipped through the pages, I kept marking ones I couldn't wait to try.

Jocelyn is one of those people that you get around, and you just can't help getting excited. She has a passion and excitement for life that is so contagious. I first met Jocelyn at a blog event in the Pillsbury kitchen.

From the first minute you meet her, she is your best friend. She has this way of making you feel so comfortable and loved. Since then I have met up with her a few more times at other blog events, and I always look forward to giving her a hug and chatting. [Read more...]

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