Looking for them hot school lunch recipies from the 60's and 70's

There was a lunch lady episode on Chopped (Food Network). I did not watch. I don't know what ingredients were in the baskets. I mean cream cheese & ham spread are often items found in baskets.

The lunch ladies here did not bake cookies. They smoked and played cards.

Qualifications for a Lunch Lady at my school:
Must be over 70
Must have Blue Hair
Must bring own Apron from home.

MetroplexJim
I went to college in New Wilmington.  The food there was excellent.  We had steak (T bones) every Saturday night.  And there was always a sundae bar.  None of us lost weight in college!  
 

I only really remember one dish that I really liked from the elementary school cafeteria in my Hannibal, MO, school days...Texas Hash.  It was a rice-tomato-ground beef casserole that had some chopped onion and green peppers added as well.  There may have been chili powder, garlic, and cumin. 
 
I've tried to make it a few times, but haven't exactly hit the home run yet.  For some reason, I've always liked casseroles with rice, and this one was great.
 
The school chili was always pretty good, and served with a peanut butter sandwich, another Hannibal tradition.  Lots of kids would dunk the sandwich in the chili as they were eating it. 

If some of the school experiences were like the local hospital cafeteria experience...they might have been great. Those ladies were fantastic...and the food was so good.

I had Grandparents who enjoyed the lunchtime company...so I was really blessed.

My school years started in 1974. They may have been the dark transitional days when they started to put out some faster food...but did not really have it down yet.

When I worked in Pensacola, FL, I used to go to Sacred Heart Hospital for lunch quite frequently. In Scottsdale AZ, I went to Scottsdale Healthcare  Hospital on Shea Blvd. Food was terrific and priced right

We never had pizza at Lawrence HS on Long Island back in the late fifties. But, we did have a dish consisting of 3 pork sausages on top of creamy mashed potatoes. All covered with brown gravy. It was like a dish you'd get in a diner. I loved it! I'd kill for that dish today!

lleechef


MetroplexJim
I went to college in New Wilmington.  The food there was excellent.  We had steak (T bones) every Saturday night.  And there was always a sundae bar.  None of us lost weight in college!  
 

That was Westminster College (Go, Titans!), not the local HS.  I was Westminster's Class of '69; when did you attend?

Hello,
I (and my borthers and sisters) have been trying to locate the EXACT recipe for Pizza Burgers that were served during lunch period at our Catholic school during the 60's. I would never have believed how complicated it could be ! I mean with only a few ingredients (buns...meat..cheese..tomato sauce..spices) how hard could it be. I immediately found many many Pizza Burger recipes and cut the list back to "school lunch program pizza burgers ". Still, it was a big list. I eventually found the USDA list of recommendations for school lunch programs and located their Pizza Burger recipe. What I soon found out was that these recipes were often changed by local public and private school cooks to suite there local tastes or for bugetery reasons. For instance SPAM is a locally produced meat substitute here and I have seen many Pizza Burger recipes with that ingredient. I did get ahold of 1 of the original cooks from the 60's and also the current cook at the school, but so far no recollection or copy of the original recipe found. We have tried several variations and one was pretty close. We are trying to think "bulk quantities" and "inexpensive" when we look at the ingredients. At the moment it is hamburger/Spam/Tomato paste..but the cheese could be grated cheddar or a cheese sauce or a combo of these. The spices and cooking method (baking and/or broiling) is important too as is the hamburger bun treatment..buttered and toasted first? If anyone has the authentic Pizza Burger recipe from a midwestern school (Minnesota here) from the 60's let me know. Tim

Apple crisp.  Thats what I remember, there was always apple crisp on the lunch menu.  And it was cold.
 
5 apples peeled sliced, use the golden ones
Lay them in buttered pan.
Mix in a separate pan 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp cinnamon. 
Spoon that on top of the apples.
Bake uncovered about 35 minutes.  I just drank milk with it.

Sounds like a dessert I could make! Thanks, fab!

My high school years were 1970-74.  My absolute favorite were call  "hungry boys".  A loaf of french bread loaded with anything and everything.  They had a big yard measuring stick but cut it by the inch.  Also grilled cheese (made with Velvita cheese of course).  Our pizza versions were toast with ketchup and whatever else you could find to put on it.  Also, anything with macaroni.  I did a lot of babysitting so had money and the "cool" kids always went to Dairy Queen for burgers and banana splits. 

Pizza Burger
In 1966, an Oregon school cafeteria manager won $ 500 for the 11th annual National Sandwich Contest for a Pizza Burger. The recipe was printed in newspapers all across the country. Here's the recipe:

6 oz bologna
3 oz cheddar cheese
1/2 lb ground beef
3/4 cup prepared spaghetti sauce
1 teaspoon parsley, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon leaf oregano
1/8 teaspoon sage
6 hamburger buns or English muffins
3 slices (1 oz each) cheddar cheese

Grind together bologna and 3 oz of cheese; set aside.Cook ground beef until lightly browned.
Stir in bologna mixture, spaghetti sauce, parsley, salt,oregano and sage only unitl blended.
Spread mixture on top and bottom halves of buns or muffins.
Cut each cheese slice into 4 strips. Place 2 strips crisscrosson each sandwich.
Bake in preheated 450 degree F oven 10 to 12 minutes, or until cheese melts.
 
Source: Reading PA Eagle newspaper, Aug 13, 1966 - from the Google Newspaper archive.