School days… school days… dear old golden rule days!
Cafeteria food has gotten a bad rap over the years, but for the most part, I remember ours being pretty tasty… except on Fridays when there was that soup with the big globs of tomatoes, or hot dogs. Both of those made me sick and almost weekly mama would be called to come and get me. So many of my school Fridays were short ones.
Back then (a very long time ago), I don’t recall us having pizza at home, except occasionally when mama would buy that box stuff… Chef Boy Ar Dee, and make one, with that gooey hateful crust you had to mix and make. You’d have to stretch and stretch that dough to the edges of the pan (we used a well-worn bumpy-bottomed rectangular biscuit pan). But it would just keep shrinking back up! I HATED that! That may be where my disdain of baking came from. I want to see results right away, and that “hurry up and wait” for rising just annoys me.
Although my favorite food may be bread. I just need somebody else to make it.
Back then, we didn’t have a pizza shop on every shopping center corner. Heck, we didn’t have shopping centers. And there were no “grab and go” sections in the grocery stores. If we wanted pizza, we ate it at school or from a box at home!
Do you remember these? With cheese in a can?!
But I do remember pizza days at school! And I suppose that’s where the popularity of pizza in America was born, at least in my rural part of America. I remember the yeastiness of the “crust” that was kinda thick and spongy… like my recipe. These days, I want as thin and crispy as possible. But it was fun going back in time to reminisce and think about my “good ole days” at Wakelon School in Zebulon, NC… with ornery lunch lady Ms. Massey. We surely were scared of her… but now, looking back, although she was kind and we did like her, she needed that little bit of fear factor to keep us hundreds of rowdy elementary and middle schoolers in line!
I hope you’ll make it and enjoy a tasty step back in time. Do come and find this post on my facebook community and share your school days pizza memories… link below.
Be sure to make some Peanut Butter Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwiches to enjoy for dessert with this pizza too!
This recipe created for and published in Carolina Country Magazine September 2024 (Recipes may be used with credit or link to my blog here or WendyPerry.com)
Propping/styling and photography by Wendy Perry
Carolina Country Magazine Contributing Recipes Editor
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Lunch Lady School Cafeteria Pizza
Ingredients
- ½ lb. each ground Italian sausage and ground beef or pork
- salt and pepper
- 2 1# pkgs. pizza dough usually found in deli case
- olive oil
- 3 tablespoons cornmeal
- 24 oz. jar favorite pasta sauce
- 3 cups shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Instructions
- Cook and crumble the ground meats. Drain and season with salt and pepper.
When ready to cook pizza:
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Brush half-sheet pan (18”x13”) lightly with oil and dust with cornmeal.
- Using fingertips, spread the dough thinly onto the pan. Brush crust with oil and prick all over with a fork. Bake 10-12 minutes. Check for air bubbles and poke down if needed.
- Spread partially baked crust to edges with sauce. Scatter to edges with crumbled meat, then top with cheese.
- Continue baking for about 15 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Cut into 8 rectangle pieces and enjoy!
Notes
Cook the meat in advance. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to make pizza!
Leftover slices can be wrapped and frozen for enjoying later. Thaw and heat in oven or toaster oven.
