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yellowdogintexas

(23,373 posts)

71. Depends on which school.

Sun Jun 1, 2025, 06:01 PM

Jun 1

From 1st through 9th grade I was in small school with all grades in the same building. The cafeteria food was marginal and a lot of it was commodity food. I hated almost all of it but I did like the fried chicken, the meatloaf, the turkey at Thanksgiving and Christmas (they made turkey salad with the leftovers which was quite good), and the sloppy joes.
We had a soft serve machine and when fish was on the menu, the ice cream would run out.

Starting in 10th grade I was at a different high school and the food was better. Spaghetti was great, meatloaf, fried chicken (those are really hard to mess up) and we had an option to get a chef's salad as an alternative if we wished. I do not remember anything at that school that was awful. However, they used a lot of ground beef and we started rumours that the meat was being recycled. Scared a few freshmen, let me tell you.

One thing both had in common: Delicious hot rolls!!! I have a recipe which claims to be
"Lunch Lady Rolls" and they do come close. I love to make dinner rolls!!

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Prof. Toru Tanaka debm55

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What cafeteria food did you actually like in school? Mine was grilled cheese sandwich. What about you?? [View all] debm55 Jun 1 OP

Pizza and chocolate pudding (with little chocolate chips) displacedvermoter Jun 1 #1

That sounds good. Thank you very much displacedvermoter. debm55 Jun 1 #2

Went home for lunch...no cafeteria... MiHale Jun 1 #3

In grade school, I went home. Junior high and High School, we lived too far away. Thank you MiHale. debm55 Jun 1 #6

Pizza The Blue Flower Jun 1 #4

That sounds very good. The Blue Flower. My school's pizza was nothing to brag about. Donuts --yes. debm55 Jun 1 #7

We had ham and cheese sandwiches on Kaiser rolls every Thursday. 33taw Jun 1 #5

Thank you very much, 33taw. That sounds very good. debm55 Jun 1 #8

It was then, not sure I would have it now. But it was a school favorite. 33taw Jun 1 #23

Fish sticks on Friday was my favorite. CrispyQ Jun 1 #9

Thank you very much, CrispyQ. That dessert sounds wonderful. debm55 Jun 1 #10

I liked fish sticks on Fridays, also. Prof. Toru Tanaka Jun 1 #37

Try a shot of Amaretto drizzled over apple crisp for an adult version. CrispyQ Jun 1 #63

Thank you CrispyQ. I will give it a try. It sounds great. debm55 Jun 1 #64

Square pizzas and 80 cent hamburgers underpants Jun 1 #11

Sorry about that, underpants. Didnt they give you a choice of other dressings? debm55 Jun 1 #12

Uh...never asked underpants Jun 1 #21

Love you, Underpants. debm55 Jun 1 #25

80 cent lunches- hmmm.... Prof. Toru Tanaka Jun 1 #46

I had no idea how reliant kids are on school lunches underpants Jun 1 #70

Thank you very much Prof.Toru Tanaka. I graduated in 1973.And yes they were resonable. debm55 Jun 1 #74

Tater tots SallyHemmings Jun 1 #13

Thank you very much, SallyHemmings. They served tator tots with the grilled chees. Yum. debm55 Jun 1 #14

As a lunch monitor (a la Tim Walz) I remember the "Flying Tater Tot incident one time Ritabert Jun 1 #45

HAHAHHAHAHaH. Thank you Ritabert. debm55 Jun 1 #48

My husband recalls that the high school served black olives ONCE Ritabert Jun 1 #51

I was a teacher for 40 some years. Two of the years in a high school. Thank you for the memories, Ritabert. had lunch debm55 Jun 1 #56

Actually in my junior high lunchroom duty was coveted Ritabert Jun 1 #61

Grilled cheese and tomato soup. Diamond_Dog Jun 1 #15

Me too, Thank you very much, Diamond_Dog, debm55 Jun 1 #16

I loved the tuna fish on wheat bread ! kimbutgar Jun 1 #17

I really enjoy tuna salad sandwiches too. Thank you very much kimbutgar. debm55 Jun 1 #19

I liked the chili mac. murielm99 Jun 1 #18

Thank you very much murierlm99, It sounds very good. debm55 Jun 1 #20

mac and cheese . AllaN01Bear Jun 1 #22

Thank you very much, AllaN01Bear. debm55 Jun 1 #26

Fish sticks sinkingfeeling Jun 1 #24

Thank you very much sinkingfeeling. debm55 Jun 1 #27

Yup. The were the best at the elementary school. (n//t) OldBaldy1701E Jun 1 #73

Thank you very much OldBaldy1701E debm55 Jun 1 #75

not real picky. brother and I would mow through most anything. stopdiggin Jun 1 #28

Thank you very much, stopdiggin. Yes the Stove Top stuffing served with a slice of "turkey" . I ate the stuffing and debm55 Jun 1 #33

Ice cream drumsticks SheltieLover Jun 1 #29

Oh, I loved those ice cream drumsticks. Still do. Thank you SheltieLover. debm55 Jun 1 #34

Nice to see you posting again, Deb! SheltieLover Jun 1 #47

Thank you SheltieLover. debm55 Jun 1 #49

Every time they served chili, it included a glazed cinnamon roll. rsdsharp Jun 1 #30

thank you rsdharp. I remember those cinnamon rolls. They were great. debm55 Jun 1 #35

The rolls - the cafeteria ladies made the best rolls....yum!! (50s and 60s) walkingman Jun 1 #31

Thank you walkingman. Yes, the rolls were great. debm55 Jun 1 #36

Hamburger and gravy over mashed potatoes. love_katz Jun 1 #32

Thank you very much love_katz. Thank you for sharing your memories with us. debm55 Jun 1 #38

Same here. We called it hamburg sundae. Ritabert Jun 1 #39

Thank you very much, Ritabert. It sounds yummy. We got the instant kind. debm55 Jun 1 #43

I'm with you regarding the grilled cheese sammich, but only if I have tomato soup on the side Ziggysmom Jun 1 #40

Thank you very much, Ziggysmom. Yes, grilled cheese with tomato soup. a winner. debm55 Jun 1 #44

Rectangle pizza Tadams01KC Jun 1 #41

That's great. Thank you very much for your choices, Tadams01KC and welcome to DU. debm55 Jun 1 #60

Beef enchiladas LetMyPeopleVote Jun 1 #42

Thank you very much, LetMyPeopleVote. They sound great. And what a great thing the staff did to bring your grandmother debm55 Jun 1 #62

bread Tetrachloride Jun 1 #50

Thank you Tetrachloride. debm55 Jun 1 #65

No cafeteria food for me. Lived too close to school. Nittersing Jun 1 #52

Thank you very much, Nittersing. That sounds delicious. debm55 Jun 1 #57

Two scoops of mashed potatoes with brown meat gravy. Good and inevpensive. brush Jun 1 #53

Thank you very much. brush. debm55 Jun 1 #79

I did, too, deb! Nt spooky3 Jun 1 #54

Thank you very much spooky3. debm55 Jun 1 #76

Boston cream pie Keepthesoulalive Jun 1 #55

At a school. Wow. Thank you very much, Keepthesoulalive. debm55 Jun 1 #58

Hi Deb. I was a Public School Cafeteria employee for 11 years. Tikki Jun 1 #59

Wow, Tikki, your school lunch sounds wonderful. A salad bar---great. Fresh bread--terrific. Thank you for your 11 years debm55 Jun 1 #66

We had honest to God lunch ladies and REAL food (before the school lunch program) Jilly_in_VA Jun 1 #67

Thank you very much, Jilly_in_VA. That sounds delicious. debm55 Jun 1 #82

Tacos... subterranean Jun 1 #68

Thank you very much for sharing your school memories with us, subterranean debm55 Jun 1 #83

Mexican food every Wednesday, Texas public schools. Paladin Jun 1 #69

That sounds great. I don't ever recall being served mexican food in school, except for Spanish rice. TY Paladin debm55 Jun 1 #85

Wow, the Texas school system actually got something right for a change. FadedMullet Jun 2 #111

HAHAHAHHAhAHAHHA debm55 Jun 2 #113

Depends on which school. yellowdogintexas Jun 1 #71

That sounds very similar to my school. I will have to look up Lunch Lady Rolls. Thank you yellowdogintexas. debm55 Jun 1 #86

Vegetable soup and sheppard's Pie LogDog75 Jun 1 #72

Wow that sounds good, thank you very much, LogDog75 debm55 Jun 1 #77

Burger and fries exboyfil Jun 1 #78

HAHHAHHAHAH. thank you exboyfil. You are so right. debm55 Jun 1 #80

Stewed plums (prunes)... ultralite001 Jun 1 #81

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA. thank you very much ultralite001 debm55 Jun 1 #88

Not cafeteria food... but one early school memory... ultralite001 Jun 1 #89

Wow, you were very lucky, Thank you very much ultralite001 debm55 Jun 2 #121

My mom gave me $1 a day k_buddy762 Jun 1 #84

I know what you are talking about. I got a dollar for lunch and bought nothing. I saved it as I didn't get an allowance. debm55 Jun 1 #87

I rarely had cafeteria food, took a sack lunch almost every day. FuzzyRabbit Jun 1 #90

Thank you FuzzyRabbit. My school lunch was not as good as those describe in some of the post. I would have loved to have debm55 Jun 1 #91

I went to a private school without a Luciferous Jun 1 #92

Thank you very much, Luciferous. That sounds great. debm55 Jun 2 #103

Spaghetti. It had melted cheese on top, too, which Nixie Jun 1 #93

Thank you very much. Nixie. That sounds yummy. debm55 Jun 2 #104

The peanut butter cookie. That's it. Solly Mack Jun 2 #94

I loved the peanut butter cookie. Thank you for the memories. Solly Mack. debm55 Jun 2 #105

Pizza! It was particularly bad pizza, with no items, just cheese... Jack Valentino Jun 2 #95

Hahahahahahha. Thank you , Jack Valentino debm55 Jun 2 #106

Apple Brown Betty (Only on Tuesday's) wyn borkins Jun 2 #96

Thank you , wyn bofkins. I remember that and it was a favorite. debm55 Jun 2 #107

Salmon Loaf Figarosmom Jun 2 #97

Thank you very much for sharing your memories with us, Figarosmom. debm55 Jun 2 #108

Mostly, cafeteria food wasn't an option. Morbius Jun 2 #98

Thank you very much Morbius. I would take my lunch to school or in the early grades go home and eat. debm55 Jun 2 #110

Does bread and butter count? You can't screw that up. no_hypocrisy Jun 2 #99

HAHAHAHHAHHAH. Thank you very much. no_hypocrisy. I understand. debm55 Jun 2 #119

Pizza and stroganoff are what I remember. lark Jun 2 #100

HAHAHAHAH Thank you lark. I did a mix of buying(very seldom) and brown bagging lunch or no lunch. debm55 Jun 2 #114

M and M cookies milestogo Jun 2 #101

Thank you milestogo for that memory. Sometimes, I would buy just the dessert and milk, too. debm55 Jun 2 #120

I remember the lunch in school was $0.35. My friends and I would take that money and go to OLDMDDEM Jun 2 #102

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA. Thank you very much for sharing that, OLDMDDEM debm55 Jun 2 #122

None of it. I went home in grade school; high school we had a Dairy Queen across from the football field catbyte Jun 2 #109

Thank you very much catbyte. Wow, a DQ across the street. Yummy. Thank you for sharing. debm55 Jun 2 #118

English muffin pizzas PJMcK Jun 2 #112

Thank you very much for sharing you memories, PJMcK. We had those English muffin pizza too, American cheese toppings and debm55 Jun 2 #116

Sloppy Joes, kozar Jun 2 #115

Thank you kozar. I loved the school's sloppy joes. debm55 Jun 2 #117

While, kozar Jun 5 #139

Thank you very much for you recipe, Koz. It is greatly appreciated. debm55 Jun 5 #140

In HS, Everything ProfessorGAC Jun 2 #123

Thank you ProfessorGAC. What wonderful choices. debm55 Jun 2 #124

Everything Cirsium Jun 2 #125

Thank you very much, Cirsium debm55 Jun 2 #126

My school had a great ala carte potato salad for 10 cents iwillalwayswonderwhy Jun 2 #127

Thank you very much iwillalwayswonderwhy. You were lucky you could buy ala cart.We had to buy by the tray. No more no debm55 Jun 2 #129

Same orangecrush Jun 2 #128

Thank you very much, orangecrush. debm55 Jun 2 #130

Most welcome! orangecrush Jun 2 #131

We had great cafeteria food. Haggard Celine Jun 2 #132

Thank you Haggard Celine. Wow gumbo with real shrimp. I could only dream. debm55 Jun 2 #133

Usually a greasy burger and soggy fries. boonecreek Jun 2 #134

Oh you! HAHAHHAHAHAHA. Thanks for sharing, boonecreek. debm55 Jun 2 #135

Cafeteria Rolls Beringia Jun 2 #136

Oh yes, they were great. Thank you, Beringia, for sharing the memory for us. debm55 Jun 2 #137

elm elementary school(art magnet) had awesome mock chicken w/ awesome rice. we walked home before that. br bag middle. pansypoo53219 Jun 2 #138

Thank you very much for sharing with us. pansypoo53219 debm55 Jun 5 #141