Some days are built from what’s left — a toasted bagel from yesterday’s batch, a bowl of soup that’s even better the second time around.

Some days call for comfort on repeat — a quiet bowl of leftover Mushroom Bisque, still rich and velvety from its slow simmer the night before.

Today’s menu feels like a love letter to food. 🥯✨ Homemade New York–style bagels for breakfast, and dinner out at Moonshiners before an evening with Samin Nosrat — the queen of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.

Leftover Beer Bread and a pot of Sausage & Kale Soup—proof that dinner doesn’t have to be complicated to be good. Sometimes the best meals are the ones that simply show up again.

It’s Monday, and comfort is the assignment. A protein shake to start the day, then Mushroom Bisque and warm Beer Bread for dinner. The kind of meal that feels like exhaling after a long drive home.

This weekend’s menu looks a little different—it comes with a road trip north to see my son before he deploys for 9 months. A casserole in the morning, Italian in Waco, and maybe Texas-shaped waffles at the Hilton. 🧇 Sometimes food is about comfort, sometimes it’s about the in-between.

By the third day of October, the kitchen will lean on leftovers, but even yesterday’s food can feel new when given the right treatment. Breakfast will be a slice of Cinnamon Maple Cream Swirled Pumpkin Spice Bread, its sweetness mellowed overnight, the kind of flavor that only deepens by waiting. Dinner will be simple: Dirty Rice Skillet, reheated in its cast-iron pan until the edges of the rice sizzle and crisp.

Today was baked, simmered, and ladled: pumpkin spice bread for breakfast, tortilla soup for dinner. If October has a flavor, this was it. 🥖🍲🍁

Some nights the menu isn’t in my kitchen, it’s in a takeout box. 🥡✨ Protein shake in the morning, The Rice Box for dinner, and Jen Hatmaker’s Awake to close the day. Sometimes the best recipe is letting someone else cook.

Inspired by Julie & Julia, I’m cooking my way through Magnolia Table Volumes 1, 2, and 3. I’m calling it The Jeanie Jo & Joanna Project. Recipe 71 of 457 is Perfect Roast Chicken and Recipe 72 of 457 is Cherry Almond Crisp—and here’s how they turned out.

Pierogies for breakfast, dirty rice for dinner, and a slice of cinnamon maple pumpkin spice bread somewhere in between. 🥟🍚🍞 Some days taste like comfort in three acts.

Inspired by Julie & Julia, I’m cooking my way through Magnolia Table Volumes 1, 2, and 3. I’m calling it The Jeanie Jo & Joanna Project. Recipe 70 of 457 is Hash Brown Casserole, and here’s how it turned out.

Inspired by Julie & Julia, I’m cooking my way through Magnolia Table Volumes 1, 2, and 3. I’m calling it The Jeanie Jo & Joanna Project. Recipe 69 of 457 is Chicken & Dumplings—and here’s how it turned out.

It’s casserole-for-breakfast kind of Monday. Hash Brown Casserole from Magnolia Table is bubbling with cheese and comfort, and tonight’s tortilla soup will keep the rhythm going.

It’s the first fall weekend, and I couldn’t help but wonder—does comfort food taste better when the calendar flips, or when the air shifts? 🍂 From caramel apple spice in the morning to roasted chicken tomorrow night, this table is carrying me into autumn. 🍁🍃🍂

Inspired by Julie & Julia, I’m cooking my way through Magnolia Table Volumes 1, 2, and 3. I’m calling it The Jeanie Jo & Joanna Project. Recipe 68 of 457 is French Lentil Soup from Vol 2 and here is how it turned out.

This morning will start with the usual protein shake, the kind of breakfast that gets me out the door while the day is already running ahead of me. Dinner, though, belongs to the leftovers. Mario’s pizza box waits in the fridge, its edges softened but its promise intact. The thing about leftover pizza is this: it can be just as good the second time, if you give it the right treatment.

Inspired by Julie & Julia, I’m cooking my way through Magnolia Table Volumes 1, 2, and 3. I’m calling it The Jeanie Jo & Joanna Project. Recipe 67 of 457 is Chocolate Chip Cookies from Magnolia Table Vol 1, and here’s how it turned out.

And as I sit with my bowl and sandwich, I’ll think about how the ordinary meals—the ones that don’t announce themselves—are often the ones that linger longest.

I couldn’t help but wonder… is gumbo a recipe, or a love letter to patience? 🍤🥘

Inspired by Julie & Julia, I’m cooking my way through Magnolia Table Volumes 1, 2, and 3. I’m calling it The Jeanie Jo & Joanna Project. Recipe 66 of 457 is Honey Oat Bread—and here’s how it turned out.

This Tuesday will start with apple cider muffins, part of Sally’s baking challenge. The kitchen will smell like cinnamon and cider, like fall found its way into the oven. Muffins always remind me that baking is part patience, part precision, and part magic.

Inspired by Julie & Julia, I’m cooking my way through Magnolia Table Volumes 1, 2, and 3. I’m calling it The Jeanie Jo & Joanna Project. Recipe 65 of 457 is French Silk Pie, and here’s how it turned out.

The first day of fall will arrive not with crisp air on the Gulf Coast, but with a pot of Chicken & Dumplings from Magnolia Table Vol 1 simmering on the stove.

It is the last weekend of summer, and I couldn’t help but wonder… do seasons end on the calendar, or on the plate? With the final forkful of lemon pie, the last burger pressed into the skillet, the noodles rolled slightly uneven on a flour-dusted counter. Maybe summer doesn’t leave all at once, but in flavors that fade slowly, making room for what comes next.