Wednesday, October 8, 2025 Menu

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.

It’s the third of October, and I couldn’t help but wonder… do leftovers ever feel like new beginnings? 🍂 A slice of pumpkin spice bread, a skillet of dirty rice, and the comfort of knowing some recipes stretch further than you think—especially when they lead to new chapters. This very bread will be…

Pumpkin spice in the morning, tortilla soup at night — sometimes fall doesn’t knock, it just slips in through the kitchen. 🍂✨

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.

It’s the kind of Friday where leftovers taste better than anything new. Mario’s pizza on the porch, a dirty soda in hand, and a slice of pumpkin spice bread waiting in the kitchen. Sometimes the table sets itself. 🍕🥤🍞

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.

It’s late September, and I couldn’t help but wonder… do we taste fall first in apples or in soup? 🍎🥣 Full menu on the blog.

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 from Magnolia Table Vol. 2, and here’s how it turned out.

And I cannot help but wonder… maybe fall does not begin with the leaves but with the ladle, the first scoop of something warm that tells us change is not only coming, it is already here.

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

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 63 & of 457 are Pulled Brisket Sliders & Coleslaw, and here’s how they 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 62 of 457 is Chicken and Wild Rice Soup 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 61 of 457 is Braided Loaf and here’s how it turned out.

So this week, when I sit down at my own table—messy counters, mismatched glasses, family interrupting mid-bite—I’ll remember that holiness doesn’t need perfection. It only needs presence.

Hold the brunch menu. I made pecan pancakes with maple butter and they tasted like a weekend you cancel plans for. Fluffy center, toasty edges, pecans that crackle, and butter that melts like a love note. Full review and kitchen notes on the blog.

Phyllo confetti, honey rain, crisp joy. 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 58 of 457 is Baklava, and here is how it turned out. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Loved it. On the blog now!

Perfect bite alert: take a warm piece of fatayar and scoop up the Lebanese Salad right on top. Soft, savory dough meets lemony crunch and cool herbs. Heat meets chill. Rich meets bright. Recipe 56 & 57 from The Jeanie Jo & Joanna Project. New post up now

The disciples wanted a timeline. We want one too. But Jesus said, stay awake, be ready. Maybe the point isn’t about decoding the end, but about how we live in the middle...

Celebrate Every Day — Sixty All summer, I’ve been learning to celebrate the ordinary, the quiet, the messy, the simple moments that make up a life. Not the fireworks or confetti, but the everyday mercies: waffles on a weekday, green beans from the farmers market, pasta sauce that stains your apron…

Meal planning isn’t glamorous. It’s not candlelight or couture. But maybe it’s the quiet kind of art — turning recipes into rhythm, groceries into gratitude, dinners into presence. 🍴 How do you add intention to your week? #CelebrateEveryDay

Some women love their heels. I love my stovetop waffler pan. Used at least once a week, it turns flour, butter, and brown sugar into crispy little love notes. Because sometimes the quietest gestures, like waffles on a weekday help someone else thrive.

Once upon a time, tomatoes were used as table decor; admired but never eaten. 🍅 Imagine missing out on their goodness, their flavor, their art. It made me wonder… what parts of myself have I set aside the same way? Read Celebrate Every Day & get the recipe on the blog! Link in profile.

Jesus flipped tables in the Temple, clearing out the noise so prayer could take center stage. And I couldn’t help but wonder—what tables need turning in me? What clutter do I need to clear so there’s room for peace, prayer, and presence this week? Read the post, link in profile @mealandgrace.blog

Some songs move into your chest & rearrange the furniture. For me, it was Harry Styles’ Matilda & Fine Line. Healing in lyrics, comfort in buttered pasta. Because sometimes art says what we can’t and sometimes, it feeds us too. Celebrate Everyday Day 55 & recipe on the blog!

Brown butter, peanut butter, a crown of Reese’s Minis. These bars are chewy, nutty, sparkly, and just a little over the top in all the best ways. Celebrate Everyday Day 54 & recipe is on the blog.

🍑🍅 Sweet peaches, burst tomatoes, glossy rigatoni… forgiveness never tasted so good. Curious how pasta can teach us about grace? Read the full story + recipe on the blog today.

I couldn’t help but wonder… is true strength doing it all alone, or knowing when to be led? Today’s reflection comes with crispy tater tots, melty cheese, and a reminder: even the strong need a Shepherd.

Palm branches, shouts of Hosanna, and a King on a donkey. I couldn’t help but wonder... what if triumph looks less like power and more like peace? The parade was just the beginning. The real victory was love. Read this weeks Grace in the Gospels at mealandgrace.blog. Link in profile. Happy Sunday!

As I steamed carrots, I couldn’t help but wonder… maybe serving “the least of these” isn’t grand gestures but small ones: feeding babies, sharing meals, filling empty tables. Simple, steady presence. Even carrots can taste like love. Read post and get recipe @mealandgrace.blog

What if the best friendships are like this salad: sweet, crunchy, a little messy, and nowhere near perfect? Frozen chicken, burnt cookies, late arrivals… flaws and all, that’s where the flavor lives. Want the recipe (and the story)? @mealandgrace.blog

💭 If a latte can be too much: coconut, raspberry, lavender and still be perfect, maybe I can too. What if the thing we fear others will say about us is really the truth we’re afraid to face? Read more in today’s post → @mealandgrace.blog

I couldn’t help but wonder… maybe Jesus’ vision of everyone seen & valued doesn’t start with a feast, but with a small batch. Like white chocolate Rice Krispy treats; sweet, sticky proof that even the littlest pan can make room for love. 💭 Recipe on the blog @mealandgrace.blog

I couldn’t help but wonder… what if leftovers aren’t just food, but hospitality to our future selves? Last month's beef bourguignon became today’s Open-Faced Swiss & Beef Melt; gooey, golden, and tender. Maybe tending starts right here. 💭 What part of your life needs that kind of care?

Mercy. Celebration. Resurrection. If that’s the rhythm of God’s heart, maybe the question isn’t what do I believe? but what beat am I living to? Gracefully yours, Jeanie Jo This Week's Grace in the Gospels on the blog link in profile @mealandgrace.blog

Some nights, resilience looks glamorous. Other nights, it looks like slicing smoked sausage into a dutch oven and calling it dinner. This is the story of how a hard season, a lazy recipe, and a little stubborn joy came together in one perfect bowl of pasta. 🍝

Some women buy shoes to cope. I buy green beans… by the pound. This weekend’s farmers market haul turned into a love story of steam, butter, and a freezer full of future dinners. Because in hard seasons, showing up sometimes looks like dinner already waiting.

Bad day remedy? I don’t vent, I sauté. I make sauce. 🍅 Something hearty, garlicky, and full of basil. It simmers down the stress and reminds me I still have a say in how the day ends. What’s your go-to mood fixer?