Lunch Time

One day at work last week, during our lunch somebody said they never understood why we Hoosiers ate peanut butter sandwiches with chili.  I know why.  It was on the school lunch menu rotation. (Makes me wonder now about the source of protein in the chili which I thought contained ground meat, beans, and macaroni.)

She went on to say that she always ate grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup.  (Well, yes, doesn't everybody?)  Then she said her family always served soup with Ritz crackers, never saltines.  And she probably still does that today.   To that I say, "To each, their own."  Even when they are wrong.  (Actually, I eat whatever cracker is in the house.  I'm not bound by rules like "That's the way we always did it.")   And speaking of wrong, she prefers that watery tomato soup when everybody knows creamy is better.

Then another luncher asked if we'd ever had peanut butter, banana, and mayonnaise sandwiches.  She said they were better than they sound.

I eat peanut butter and banana sandwiches, but I'd never put mayonnaise on them.  I also like peanut butter and raisin sandwiches.  Did you know that to make a proper peanut butter and jelly sandwich you should mix the jelly and peanut butter before you spread them on buttered bread?

I like peanut butter and bologna sandwiches.  A treat from my childhood (i.e., twenties) that I'd almost forgotten about, I had one last weekend for supper.  Usually I have mayonnaise, lettuce, and potato chips on my bologna sandwiches. 

Somebody mentioned fried bologna sandwiches.  We used to have them sometimes when I was much younger, but now it's too much trouble to wash the skillet. 

I usually buy bologna to make Bologna Salad Sandwich Spread, but I eat the bologna before I get it made.  Here's a recipe for bologna salad sandwich spread.  The measurements aren't exact but start with the lesser amounts and then keep adding till it's the way you like it.   Makes about 6 - 8 cups and keeps about 5 days in the refrigerator.

Bologna Salad Sandwich Spread

1 to 1 1/2 pounds bologna
4 - 6 hard boiled eggs
6 sweet pickles (enough to make about 1/4 - 1/2 cup when chopped, or use pickle relish)
1 tablespoon mustard (more or less)
1/2 - 1 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing

Grind the bologna, eggs, and pickles coarsely with a meat grinder (or use a food processor, making sure you don't over-process).  Mix all the ingredients together, chill, and serve on bread or crackers.

Some people like to add about 1/4 small onion to the bologna when grinding it up. 
Some prefer dill pickles to sweet pickles.
You can add about 1 pound of cheddar cheese to the grinder also, and omit the eggs or not.
Some people don't use any mustard.

Some people think they are too good to eat bologna or peanut butter.  I say, "To each, their own".  Even if they are wrong.