Posted on by Belinda O

Bologna and Cheeses

Daily writing prompt
Which food, when you eat it, instantly transports you to childhood?
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When I was young, a favorite meal of mine was something you’d likely never find in a cookbook. We called these sandwiches bologna and cheeses, and they were a kind of disgusting mixture of (you guessed it) ground bologna and ground cheese, with ketchup, onions, and probably some other stuff mixed in. My mom would grind the bologna and cheese in a meat grinder, nothing electric like you’d find today, all done by hand.

To make the sandwiches, you first broiled one side of the bread, just enough to toast it, then spread the gloppy mix on the other side and broiled that until it was blackened just a little. They were yummy. Today’s prompt asks me which food when I eat it instantly transports me to childhood, and I haven’t eaten any of these in years. But the thought of them brings back happy memories.

Remember these?

One of the happiest was from a fourth-grade project. Our student teacher was getting married, and we were all given a 4×6 recipe card and told to write instructions for our favorite meal on it. We were asked to remember that Miss Stone, the student teacher, was a novice cook and to bring simple, easy-to-make recipes.

Somehow, that last bit of instruction got lost in the homes of most of the students, and they brought in complex recipes that would intimidate the most experienced chefs. However, I dutifully wrote out instructions for Bologna and Cheeses and presented that recipe to Miss Stone, now Mrs. Lisle.

It was her husband’s favorite. In fact, she made it for his friends when they were over watching football, and ended up sending the recipe home with all of them, as well.

It’s nice when a gift is appreciated, and especially nice when you’re nine years old and your teacher compli ments you in front of the whole class.

I doubt I’ll ever eat Bologna and Cheeses again, but the memory is a strong one.

Image Credits: Cats Cooking © TopMedia; Meat Grinder © ~Bitter~; Recipe Cards ©  Noel; All-stock.adobe.come

11 Replies to “Bologna and Cheeses”

  2. Belinda–bologna and cheese sandwiches are my blast from the past, too! Only we used sliced bologna and cheese slices from the package. A little mustard on the bread and served with a dill pickle…my childhood in a sandwich.

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  3. Oh my goodness, Belinda. I’d forgotten all about my mom Sue’s “boloney salad sandwiches”. She’d get that grinder out and the whole kitchen reeked of garlic (must’ve been the variety of baloney/bologna?). A strong memory for me in a couple of ways. Thanks for the smile! 😁🥰😁

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    1. Not sure if my response got through, so forgive me if this is a duplicate message. Glad to trigger a happy memory! Bologna (or baloney, which I think is how I spelled it on the recipe card) must have been quite a staple a few years back!

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