Best School Cafeteria Food

[Addie]

On Monday and Tuesday, baked bean sandwiches from home. The rest of the week was baloney and cheese sandwiches with Caines mayo. I got a nickel each morning for a Hoodsie Cup with a picture of the stars of Hollywood on the inside of the cover.

Everyone brought baked bean sandwiches. Just a New England tradition at the time.

 

[medtran49]

I'm +1 with Craig, even though I'm from an era where it was cooked on site. You could see the kitchen in elementary school as you went thru the line and things were usually still on the stoves so the pans could be refilled as they were emptied. The thing I remember most is walking into the cafeteria and smelling the vinegary greens and seeing the white beans, which were HUGE YUKS at the time for me. I brown bagged it more often than not.

In middle school, things were a bit better since they had started serving hot dogs and hamburgers and pizza by then, though they were still being cooked on premise. Once high school hit though and we were allowed off campus, most of us would go elsewhere, though occasionally we'd hit one of the few lunch carts in the central courtyard (in Florida by then) that sold ala carte, or buy pizza at a reduced price in the cafeteria.

 

[Addie]

When I was in the fourth and third grade, lunch came with the education. We all lived to far away to go home for lunch. Indian Pudding was on the menu at least once a week. I passed on that every time. a BIG YUK!

 

[jabbur]

During first and second grade, I walked to school. All walkers were sent home for lunch and only bus riders got to eat in the cafeteria. Most of the school were walkers so we walked home for lunch then back to school for the afternoon. Then we moved and I had to ride the bus to school and eat in the cafeteria. I started out packing my lunch and did a combination of packing a buying. The 3 dishes I most remember were their spaghetti, pizza burgers (hamburger buns with spaghetti meat sauce and cheese melted on top) and city chicken. LOVED the city chicken. My elementary school did not have a kitchen to cook on site. The food was cooked at the high school and transported to the elementary school for serving so when they were out of something, too bad! I also liked the little cups of ice cream with the wooden spoons we could buy extra.

 

[Janet H]

What is a cheese zombie? I do not recall that.

Cheese zombie is bread dough rolled out to thin-ish, layered with velveeta or melty cheese of some sort and then another layer of dough on top. Coat the whole thing in butter and bake.

On a sheetpan: Rhoads dough, many slices of cheese (be generous), more dough, butter. Bake @ 350 and serve in big wedges.

here's a link: How To Make The Original ‘Cheese Zombie’ [RECIPE]

Here's a pic:

At my kids school they used to serve these about every two weeks. They would make pans and pans of these and while they might not be entirely healthy - they were surely delicious.

 

[Dawgluver]

Cheese zombie is bread dough rolled out to thin-ish, layered with velveeta or melty cheese of some sort and then another layer of dough on top. Coat the whole thing in butter and bake.



On a sheetpan: Rhoads dough, many slices of cheese (be generous), more dough, butter. Bake @ 350 and serve in big wedges.



here's a link: How To Make The Original ‘Cheese Zombie’ [RECIPE]



Here's a pic: View attachment 25013



At my kids school they used to serve these about every two weeks. They would make pans and pans of these and while they might not be entirely healthy - they were surely delicious.

That looks delicious! I would eat 10 or 12...

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Cheese zombie is bread dough rolled out to thin-ish, layered with velveeta or melty cheese of some sort and then another layer of dough on top. Coat the whole thing in butter and bake.

On a sheetpan: Rhoads dough, many slices of cheese (be generous), more dough, butter. Bake @ 350 and serve in big wedges.

here's a link: How To Make The Original ‘Cheese Zombie’ [RECIPE]

Here's a pic: View attachment 25013

At my kids school they used to serve these about every two weeks. They would make pans and pans of these and while they might not be entirely healthy - they were surely delicious.

Oh Yes! I remember those, sooo good, ours were served with dill pickle slices.

 

[jd_1138]

During first and second grade, I walked to school. All walkers were sent home for lunch and only bus riders got to eat in the cafeteria. Most of the school were walkers so we walked home for lunch then back to school for the afternoon. Then we moved and I had to ride the bus to school and eat in the cafeteria. I started out packing my lunch and did a combination of packing a buying. The 3 dishes I most remember were their spaghetti, pizza burgers (hamburger buns with spaghetti meat sauce and cheese melted on top) and city chicken. LOVED the city chicken. My elementary school did not have a kitchen to cook on site. The food was cooked at the high school and transported to the elementary school for serving so when they were out of something, too bad! I also liked the little cups of ice cream with the wooden spoons we could buy extra.

Wow, that's kinda harsh making kids who walk to school walk home for lunch. In hippy dippy California where I grew up, we could do whatever. I walked to school in kindergarten through first grade, as we only lived a couple of blocks away. I usually bought breakfast and lunch there.

But we had a full kitchen there, so I guess your school had lower capacity with having to bring the food in. I remember breakfast was 20 cents and lunch was 30 cents. Breakfast was usually a piece of toast, maple oatmeal, a fruit cup, and a milk.

I loved the hamburgers and pizza. The hamburgers came with a little salad on the side (lettuce, tomato slivers, pickles) that you could plop onto the hamburger or eat separately. Oh and those crinkle cut fries, yum.

In the 3rd grade I started bringing my lunch. I had a Muppets "Pigs in Space" metal lunchbox. Then I sort of drifted back and forth between bringing/buying. In 10th grade I got a license/car, so I mostly would leave for lunch and go to the local Mr. Burger car hop joint. That was in 1990. I had a Ford Pinto. ha.

 

[Whiskadoodle]

With two menus we were served homemade crescent rolls. Whenever they made chunky vegetable beef soup and when they made fried chicken. Not sure of the logic, but it was their standard all through grade school. You could go back and get another roll, and more strawberry jam on your plate and if you wanted more chicken, they would give you a wing. Good meals not served very often.

Other things I liked were hamburger or turkey gravy on real mashed potatoes, toastie dogs, pizza burgers, school sloppy joes. Now their American chop suey, they just had to go an screw that up consistently. Always expect an "extra" ingredient, like canned peas, green beans or corn mixed in. The times w/ corn were acceptable.

They made good apple crisp too.

 

[Dawgluver]

Hm. Forgot about the apple crisp. It really was good!