Blog - Inside BruCrew Life

Sweet and Salty Trail Mix

Satisfy your sweet tooth with a bowl of this Sweet and Salty Trail Mix. Pretzels, peanut butter cups, peanuts, and cookies make this homemade snack mix taste so good.

Most of our vacations for the summer are over already. Right after school finished we took our kiddos on a short 4 day cruise to Cuba and Great Stirrup Cay.

We sailed on the same boat last year when we enjoyed a Beach Day on Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas. The island is gorgeous, so we didn't mind stopping for another day of sunbathing and snorkeling.

Why is it when you are going TOO a vacation the hours driving in a car don't bother you as much? Our drive home from Miami sure seemed longer coming home.

I think it was: A. There was no cruise boat waiting for me in my driveway and B. I didn't have any Reese's snack mix left to munch on as we came home.

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Coconut Cream Fruit Dip

This sweet and tropical Coconut Cream Fruit Dip is a delicious choice to serve with fruit. It's an easy no bake dessert to bring to summer picnics or parties.

A few weeks ago we had a ladies meeting at our church. Of course, I had to bring some sort of dessert, right?

These Coconut Oreo Shortcakes were on my counter waiting to go over, but I wanted something else. I wanted something full of coconut goodness.

I opened the pantry and stared into it, then I heard angels start singing as I spotted the can of cream of coconut in the back.

Usually, I like to make a dark chocolate dip or this Lemon Cream Fruit Dip, but today my tropical loving tastebuds were craving a creamy, coconut dip.

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Layers of hot fudge and peanut butter candies make this easy Reeses Ice Cream Cake a stunning summer dessert! It is so easy to change it up and make this ice cream sandwich cake in minutes with your favorite candies.

A white plate with a slice of ice cream cake drizzled with chocolate syrup on it.

We usually have some kind of ice cream in our freezer at all times because it is our daughter's favorite dessert. Every year, she asks for an ice cream cake for her birthday.

Over the years, this mint chocolate chip ice cream cake and this cookie dough ice cream cake have been a few of her favorite combos. We even did ice cream tacos one year.

We always have so much fun making and devouring these DIY ice cream cakes together. This year, we decided to layer ice cream sandwiches with hot fudge and candy in a pan. It was a great way to use the bags of Reese's peanut butter cups and Reese's Pieces in the pantry.

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Why This Ice Cream Cake Recipe Works

You honestly can't go wrong with whatever candy you use. Think of all the combos you could do! Caramel sauce with Snickers bars. Marshmallow topping and Three Musketeers....the possibilities are endless.

I love making homemade ice cream cakes with store-bought ice cream sandwiches because the cake is ready for the freezer in less than 15 minutes. You can't beat having a gourmet homemade ice cream cake in minutes, right?

A big slice of Reese's ice cream cake is definitely a great way to cool off on a hot summer day!

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Cherry Mocha Chip Muffins

Start the day off with a batch of these Cherry Mocha Chip Muffins and cup of coffee. Double the caffeine will help get you going in the morning.

A long, long time ago, right after I started blogging, I had a reader ask if I could make a cherry muffin recipe. I created a muffin recipe and shared it here on the blog.

Oh, my goodness. I just about died laughing when I looked back at those pictures. You see, I have been revisiting the old recipes that I have made. Sometimes the photos (and sometimes the recipe) just don't work.

If you are interested in the bad photo from the beginning, just scroll to the very bottom of the post. I kept one picture, just so I can see how far I have come in my photography and recipe development.

Since I'm not really a fan of flat muffins, I knew the recipe was going to need some work. After a few test runs, I finally came up with a winner muffin that everyone here loved. [Read more...]

S'mores Frappuccino Cupcakes Recipe

This fun cupcake was inspired by a Starbucks frappuccino. A graham cracker crust and marshmallow frosting makes these S'mores Frappuccino Cupcakes a delicious and fun treat. Perfect s'mores dessert for summer picnics and parties.

S'mores Cupcakes

Years ago, I had an amazing idea to make this delicious S'mores Latte. I was so excited for this fun "new" coffee drink. It turns out that I wasn't as creative and original as I thought.

The same year that I created that marshmallow latte, Starbucks added the S'mores Frappuccino to their summer menu. Mind blown! I had no idea that they were adding marshmallow to their coffee drinks too.

I was so disappointed this summer when they didn't bring the s'mores drink back again. Did you get a chance to try it in past years? It was so creamy and delicious.

One of my favorite things to do with Starbucks drinks is to turn them into fun and delicious cupcakes. These Frappuccino Cupcakes and these Salted Caramel Brownie Cupcakes are a couple of my favorite coffee creations.

When I started planning out my recipes for this month, I knew that I wanted to create a s'mores cupcake that looked and tasted like the frappe.

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Sour Cream Banana Donuts

These easy baked Sour Cream Banana Donuts get a fun flair from the different toppings. Enjoy cookies, chocolate chips, or sprinkles for breakfast!

Woot woot! Do you know what day it is? It's one of my favorite foodie holidays! Today is National Donut Day! Bring on all the sweet baked and fried balls of dough.

Curious minds want to know...which spelling do you prefer? Doughnut or donut?

I guess it really depends on the type of donut were are talking about. I tend to use the word doughnut for ones that have been fried like these doughnut sticks, and donut for the baked ones like these.

Whichever one is right or correct does not matter to me. What does matter is that we all enjoy a sweet treat on this national food holiday.

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No Bake Coconut Oreo Icebox Cake

Grab a fork and dive into the creamy layers of this No Bake Coconut Oreo Icebox Cake. Chocolate and coconut is always a good idea for easy no bake summer desserts.

Do you have certain foods that you just have to make in certain seasons?

For me, fall is all about apples and pumpkin, Christmas is obviously peppermint and eggnog, and then summer is coconut for me.

For some reason when summer gets here, all I can think about is putting coconut in just about everything. Of course, I think about coconut pretty much year round because I love the stuff.

I even think about it a lot in January because when it is cold and chilly, coconut reminds me of the warm, sunny days of summer!

I do have to show some restraint because my family is not as crazy for coconut as I am. That just means more Carrot Coconut Bread for me!!!

Although, I have found that the more I add it to sweets, the less complaining has been going on. Mwhahahaha! I feel like I'm weakening their coconut hating tastebuds! [Read more...]

Honey Nut Granola

A big bowl of this Honey Nut Granola with milk is delicious for breakfast or an afternoon snack. Add it to a bowl of yogurt or chia pudding for a healthy start to the day.

We have been making our own homemade granola for a while now. A few months ago I forgot to buy a bag for my daughter, so I had to dig through the pantry to see what I could come up with.

It turns out homemade granola is extremely easy to make. Now that I know how to make it, I'm not sure I will ever buy those bags of overpriced granola at the grocery store. Plus, it's so fun to come up with fun flavors to munch on.

So far we have made four different flavors, but I think this Chocolate Covered Strawberry Granola was our favorite. I mean, how can you argue with chocolate for breakfast? Am I right?

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No Bake Banana Split Dessert

This No Bake Banana Split Dessert is a keeper for all those hot summer days. The BEST Banana Split of all times in an easy, no bake cheesecake form.

A slice of banana split lush on a plate topped with an Oreo.

Let's talk about the weather for just a minute.

Weather in Florida changes quite often. One moment it's sunny, then it's cloudy and rainy, and then it goes back to sunny with a lot of humidity. Although, I don't think Florida weather is as fickle as the weather we used to have when we lived in Indiana.

I remember one summer where it was cloudy, rainy, and cool one day, then sunny and 87 degrees the next. In less than 48 hours we experienced summer and spring!

I think I'll take the hot and humid months here in Florida instead. Those days mean lots of days by the pool with Raspberry Orange Slushies.

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Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies

These Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies are chewy, delicious, and loaded with peanut butter candies. Peanut butter lovers will go wild for this easy banana chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Four peanut butter banana cookies stacked on a white doily with a tray of cookies behind it

The downfall to buying too many bananas at a time is that we end with quite a few over-ripe bananas sitting on the counter for days!

I have already frozen quite a few in the past few weeks, so we are set to enjoy lots of smoothies and peanut butter banana ice cream for the next month.

Since I didn't want to freeze anymore, I had to find a way to use the rest this week. First, I made some butterscotch banana muffins and some banana s'mores muffins.

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