Blog - Inside BruCrew Life

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chunk Granola

This Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chunk Granola is perfect for breakfast or snacking on in the afternoon. Pour it over Greek yogurt for a totally delicious start to the day.

Homemade granola is so easy to do with ingredients you have in your pantry. We love making a big pan of granola to snack on all week long.

The problem is that it doesn't last that long.

Until recently I would just buy bags of granola for us to snack on. But then I realized just how easy homemade granola is to make. Plus, I can control the amount of oil and extra sugars that go into it.

Our daughter loves having granola in the house. She usually has a big bowl of it with milk for her afternoon snack.

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S'mores Marshmallow Fluff Dessert

This summer, make a big bowl of this Marshmallow Fluff Dessert for picnics. It's creamy and sweet with the perfect s'mores flavor. Chocolate bars, marshmallows, and graham crackers make this fluff salad disappear in a hurry.

Love dessert salads? Check out this awesome banana split fluff. All your favorite sundae toppings in one big dessert salad.

A blue bowl filled with a fluffy marshmallow salad.

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Over the years, I have made quite a few different fluff salads. A creamy pudding salad loaded with mix-ins is never a bad idea. Plus, a sweet treat that you can call a "salad" is awesome!

Chocolate lovers always love my chocolate salad, and lemon lovers enjoy this lemon fluff salad.

Last week, I realized that I needed to add s'mores fluff to my list of delicious dessert salads. Instead of using pudding, I used cream cheese and whipped cream to give it a creamy texture.

Why You'll Love This Marshmallow Fluff Dessert

Marshmallow fluff dessert is the perfect sweet treat for s'mores lovers. It has chunks of candy bars, mini marshmallows, and graham cracker pieces.
It is easy to make in minutes and even easier to eat. Serve it with spoons or graham cracker squares.
You will be the hit of any picnic when you show up with this s'mores fluff. It's creamy, chocolatey, and absolutely irresistible.

Bonus: If you love S'mores, check out this list of 31 of the best s'mores recipes!

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Honey Peanut Butter Frosting

Swirls of Peanut Butter Frosting are the perfect topping for your cakes and cupcakes. This easy buttercream frosting recipe combines peanut butter and honey to create a sweet and creamy texture that is impossible to resist.

Why We Love This Recipe

Looking for the absolute best peanut butter frosting in the world? Stop all the searches because this is it! This fluffy peanut butter buttercream is one of my most requested recipes and is also my favorite way to frost all the things.

Ok, ok, maybe not ALL the things because it wouldn't be good on eggs or zucchini. But you get the point, right?

I have been making this peanut butter icing recipe for years and have also used it in different blog posts. So why am I sharing it alone now?

I frequently get requests for frosting recipes. Sometimes readers already know what cake or cupcake they want to make, and they are looking for the perfect frosting recipe to go with it. To help everyone find frosting recipes easier, I have started to share them separately.

This peanut butter frosting is smooth and creamy and is perfect for swirling on cupcakes, cookies, or brownies. It's also great for frosting sheet cakes or layer cakes. Honestly though, my favorite way to eat it is by the spoonfuls. Wink, wink! [Read more...]

Salted Caramel Reese's Popcorn

Add this Salted Caramel Reese's Popcorn to your movie night plans. Two kinds of Reese's candy and a sprinkling of sea salt creates a sweet and salty treat that will disappear in a hurry. I suggest making a double batch.

Try this S'mores Popcorn for a fun treat this summer. Perfect way to get your chocolate and marshmallow fix without the work of a fire.

Salted Caramel Reese's Popcorn - this easy snack mix is loaded with salted caramel and two kinds of Reese's candies. Make this recipe to munch on during movie nights! #popcorn #saltedcaramel #peanutbuttercups #reesespieces #snackmix #nobake #sweetandsalty

Recently we joined a new gym. I thought I was in shape from working out and lifting weights in our garage gym. Apparently when you work out alone, you don't push yourself as much because I was dying the first week.

The weight days have been fine. My muscles are pretty strong from keeping up with my 5x5 lifts, but my cardio is totally lacking. I was gasping and breathing so hard on the first couple of cardio days. Who am I kidding? I'm still struggling. But the plan is to keep going and to keep toning my dessert loving body and to eat more lean and green meals.

I would much rather be munching on things like Salted Caramel Chocolate Sugar Cookie Bars and Banana Chocolate Chip Cheesecakes instead of being so dedicated to clean eating, but then my shorts and jeans get mad at me. All things in moderation, right? A little dessert and a lot of greens and workouts keep me going strong!

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Milk Chocolate S'mores Fudge

Chocolate candy bars, graham crackers, and mini marshmallows add a fun flavor and texture to this S'mores Fudge. Such an easy no bake dessert for summer.

A white plate with squares of chocolate marshmallow fudge on it.

Something about summer says s'mores. There is just something about that chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker combo. It's a treat I could enjoy every night.

The problem is that in the middle of summer, it really is too hot to sit around a bonfire and make s'mores. My solution is to create these fun chocolate marshmallow treats in the kitchen far, far away from a blazing fire.

Some of our favorites so far are these s'more granola bars, this s'mores popcorn, and these peanut butter s'more bars.

Yummy sweet s'mores without the mess and danger of a fire in summer. Now that's the way I like it.

Why You Will Love It

S'mores fudge is a great option for hot summer months because it requires no baking or cooking. So, it is perfect when you do not want to heat up your house with the oven.

Frosting fudge is easy to make in minutes without using a candy thermometer. It is the perfect quick and easy treat for summer. You can even make fudge with potatoes. You might be surprised to find out how good potato fudge is!

In under 20 minutes you can have a pan of fudge cooling on your counter.

So whether you enjoy your s'mores made over a crackling fire or in the comfort of your kitchen, this easy chocolate fudge recipe is for you.

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Balsamic Caprese Veggie Salad

A big bowl of this Balsamic Caprese Veggie Salad is a refreshing side dish that goes with any meal. It's a great healthy option to bring to all those summer picnics and potlucks.

Drizzle this Homemade Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette on top right before serving and watch it disappear.

Balsamic Caprese Veggie Salad - this fresh and easy veggie salad is a healthy option to enjoy all summer long. Make this recipe to have with chicken or burgers. #salad #healthy #tomatoes #cucumber #picnic #sidedish #veggies #leanandgreen

At the moment I could eat this veggie salad for every meal and be happy about it. Ok, ok, I would probably not be as happy eating it for breakfast. But you know what I mean, right?

We are still going strong with our healthy eating around here. Well, for the most part. Every so often we indulge and make these Mini Strawberry Pies or these White Chocolate Mochaccino Chippers. The sweet tooth has to have something every once in a while as a reward for hitting it hard in the gym and eating right.

Although, with swim suit season here, I am trying really hard not to eat all the sweets in the house. Trust me, I really do want to hide in my baking pantry and eat chocolate chips by the handfuls. But I'm resisting that urge because I just bought new summer clothes that I want to be able to still fit in.

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Red White and Blue Parfaits

Layers of cookies, white chocolate cheesecake, and fresh fruit make these Red White and Blue Parfaits perfect for 4th of July picnics. This delicious no bake dessert is easy for anyone to make in minutes.

Be sure to add a batch of these chocolate cheesecake parfaits for the chocolate lover in the group too.

Cheesecake parfaits made with a layer of fresh fruit.

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Cheesecake is our go to dessert when we need something fancy and delicious to take to dinner parties. But sometimes it is just too hot to turn on the oven, so that's when no bake desserts come in handy.

No bake cheesecake parfaits are so easy to make because you do not need to have any baking skills. Some of our favorites are these peanut butter and pina colada parfaits.

Since 4th of July is just around the corner, I decided to make a white chocolate parfait using red and blue fruit.

Why Make Cheesecake Parfaits

Red white and blue parfaits are the perfect patriotic treat. They are easy to make, and everyone loves how fancy they look.

Layers of white cheesecake, red strawberries, and blue blueberries are the perfect way to show your American pride at dessert. These cheesecake cups will be the hit of any 4th of July party or picnic.

Chocolate covered strawberries decorated with star sprinkles and a little paper flag add the perfect extra touch to the top of each parfait.

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Visiting Grand Canyon National Park

Visiting Grand Canyon National Park is a must when you travel to Arizona. The vast canyon is one of the world's natural wonders and will take your breath away every time you step up to the edge.

Our family has had the opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon twice in the past 6 months. Last fall my husband and I headed to Arizona with our oldest son as he got ready to start his first year in college.

We decided to take a two day detour to see the natural canyon wonder and to do a little hiking with him before we dropped him off.

I can't even begin to describe the enormous amount of awe that comes over you when you see the Grand Canyon for the very first time. It is seriously one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my life.

One of my favorite things about it was seeing how it changed from different angles and different light. The colors in the layers of rocks could go from muted to vibrant in a short time frame. It all depends on the time of day you get there and how much sunlight is shining down. [Read more...]

Dark Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

This rich and smooth Dark Chocolate Buttercream Frosting will satisfy any chocolate lover. It's the perfect topping for cakes, cupcakes, or cookies. You will never buy store-bought chocolate icing again after trying this homemade frosting recipe.

A bowl filled with a swirl of dark chocolate frosting.

When it comes to chocolate desserts, I say the darker the better. Of course, that's my personal opinion. I do realize not everyone shares this love for rich dark chocolate goodness.

In fact, I used to be an all milk chocolate kind of girl. Hello, M&M's. Those sweet little milk chocolate candies are still my favorite. But then my husband introduced me to dark chocolate, and my world was changed.

Dark chocolate takes some time to get used to. The difference between dark chocolate and milk chocolate is that there is more cocoa bean content in the dark chocolate. Milk chocolate has sugars and creams added to it to sweeten the flavor.

Honesty, I'm not picky, though. I'll eat any chocolate you put in front of me.

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Blueberry Pineapple Slushies

These easy three ingredient Blueberry Pineapple Slushies are a delicious way to cool off on a hot summer day. Frozen berries and sorbet come together quickly in the blender with Sprite or sparkling water to create a fast and refreshing drink.

*This post is sponsored by Wish Farms in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC. All opinions are my own.

Summer has officially hit. Ok, ok, so it's not actually officially here because the kids are still in school. But they have made it to single digits in their countdown, so it's almost here.

The weather feels like summer though. This past week it has been hot and humid. I like hot. It's the humid that I'm not a big fan of. Working out in our garage gym isn't as much fun or productive when the humidity is high. I'm kind of nervous for the next few month.

Although, as long as I keep frozen fruit in my freezer, I can whip up these quick and easy fruit slushies in our blender every single day for a refreshing snack. Knowing a frozen treat is just minutes away will keep me motivated to finish doing those squats and burpees. At least I hope so... [Read more...]

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