DOE Cafeteria Food

[lavagal]

Oh I need help! Desperate! My girls want me to make CREOLE MACARONI for supper. OK, I have ground turkey and elbows and canned tomatoes. But! What makes it creole? Does anyone remember what was in it and could you throw some ideas my way? It's supper time!

mahalo,
@;-)

[scrivener]

Re: DOE Cafeteria Food

There was very little "creole" in the creole macaroni we had when I was in public school. You're basically making a chili macaroni, if I remember correctly. I suppose you could add some cajun spice seasoning, which is easy enough to find at the supermarket.

There are quite a few recipes. This one uses "Italian seasoning."

[1stwahine]

Re: DOE Cafeteria Food

I googled and there's plenny versions.

Here's one: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Creole-...se/Detail.aspx

Lynn

[Honoruru]

Re: DOE Cafeteria Food

This might be a good idea for the DOE ... a cookbook with recipes of favorite Cafeteria food throughout the years. A lot of my friends and relatives fondly remember some of their favorite cafeteria food from long ago.

For me (60's) I really liked the cherry cobbler and Spanish rice (not together, of course). I've probably forgotten many of my favorites. Don't know what they serve today.

[lavagal]

Re: DOE Cafeteria Food

This might be a good idea for the DOE ... a cookbook with recipes of favorite Cafeteria food throughout the years. A lot of my friends and relatives fondly remember some of their favorite cafeteria food from long ago.

For me (60's) I really liked the cherry cobbler and Spanish rice (not together, of course). I've probably forgotten many of my favorites. Don't know what they serve today.

Honoruru: You are so right! Think how many DOE alums would buy such a cookbook if it featured ono lunch-room grinds from the 50s, 60s, 70s?!!

I wonder if there are any records! I wonder if I could write a grant proposal and do it myself?!

[Haupia]

Re: DOE Cafeteria Food

Well, if someone digs out the recipe for Spanish rice please let me know. That was my favorite.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: DOE Cafeteria Food

as my MIL proudly worked for a DOE cafeteria (*ahem*), allow me:

two tons' worth of spaghetti sauce (must be from a can marked "spaghetti sauce"). Add choke hamburger and elbow macaroni. Make sure it isn't runny. Don't ack up with stuff like onions, garlic, vegetables. Hamburger, elbows, sauce.

He go!

[Pomai]

Re: DOE Cafeteria Food

My favorite menu item back in elementary school then was the "Mulligan Stew". Good stuff. Pig in the Blanket was popular too. On Hawaiian day, I scored extra poi from friends who didn't eat the stuff. Woohoo!

We used to call the pizza "ab@rtion on toast". If IIRC, they used Vienna sausage as the "sausage" on it. Ackk! That was worst thing I can remember. Most everything else was decent to really ono.

Lunch then was 25 cents and extra milk was 10 cents each (cash-coins). Now I hear they're using an account payment system.

Cafeteria duty was always a nice way to get out of class. 1 scoop spinach. Repeat 200 times. lol

[scrivener]

Re: DOE Cafeteria Food

I vote for pig-in-the-blanket and Spanish rice. I also really dug the apple crisp, 'though I'm not sure I wanna know what was in it.

I used to really pig out on tater tots and on anything with mashed potatoes and gravy. In fact, a classmate and I would have a contest to see who could scab the most tater tots from our classmates. The girls always gave theirs to me, of course.

Lavagal, you should write the recipes for three hundred students, then at the end, include a little box that gives the recipes for family-sized dinners.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: DOE Cafeteria Food

I'd like to give a shout out for the best DOE lunch: oven fried chicken with gravy, mashed potatoes, what-is-in-that-slaw and shortbread cookies.

Plus one carton of 2% milk, ice cold.

[1stwahine]

Re: DOE Cafeteria Food

My Vote ~ Somehow, DOE'S Shoyu chicken can never be topped. The taste lingers in my 52 year old mind.

Auntie Lynn

[Da Rolling Eye]

Re: DOE Cafeteria Food

Oh I need help! Desperate! My girls want me to make CREOLE MACARONI for supper. OK, I have ground turkey and elbows and canned tomatoes. But! What makes it creole? Does anyone remember what was in it and could you throw some ideas my way? It's supper time!

mahalo,
@;-)

It's only called Creole Macaroni.

Just brown up the turkey, add finely diced onions as kids just hate large pieces of round onion. Add a couple of cloves of crushed garlic. A can of tomato sauce, a can of tomato soup, a teaspoon or so of paprika, salt sparingly and pepper to taste. Add a handfull of frozen peas and bring the pot to a simmer for a few minutes. Options are finely diced bell pepper, a can of chopped olives, canned corn, lillo bit chili powder, etc. Turn off the heat and add a half package of cooked elbow macaroni or shells and mix it all up. Pour the whole thang in a casserole dish and smother with shredded mild cheddar cheese or a shredded Mex mix and bake at around 325 for about 40 minutes. Tadaaaa! "Creole" Mac! Probably not exactly like the school version, but the kids like it anyway.

Btw, I use 93% ground beef I find at Tamura's. Super lean and don't have to drain any oil. Also, try to look for fresh ground chicken. The "previously frozen" ground chicken and turkey are nasty. Fry them up and it starts to float in a whole lot of yellowish liquid. FAT! I buy fresh ground chicken from Tamura's or Times. Much better product with way less fat.

[Honoruru]

Re: DOE Cafeteria Food

I'd like to give a shout out for the best DOE lunch: oven fried chicken with gravy, mashed potatoes, what-is-in-that-slaw and shortbread cookies.

I forgot about the shortbread cookies! They were the best!

[Walkoff Balk]

Hawaii school lunches deemed 'unhealthy and unappetizing' (khon2.com)

I have fond memories of school cafeteria lunches. I don't know if the food was healthy. But at that age, you could burn off the calories easy.